Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall says that this season’s Barclays Women’s Super League title will not be won or lost solely by the club’s results against champions Chelsea.
The Gunners will take on The Blues in front of around 45,000 fans at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon. It will be the first time that the two Barclays Women’s Super League heavyweights have met this season. Arsenal trail Chelsea by three points in the title race, although The Gunners have a game-in-hand.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Eidevall said that the title won’t necessarily be won or lost based on the results from their games against The Blues.
“Last year, we played Chelsea twice, we took four points off them,” Eidevall said. “They took one point off us, we didn’t win the trophy, so it shows that you can be the better in a head-to-head but still don’t win. Of course, it helps. Of course, we want to win, but as we saw last season, the team between one and two that take the fewest points there, they still managed to win the trophy.
“The answer is that every game is important if you want to win the league.”
Arsenal have won just one of their last seven Barclays Women’s Super League matches against Chelsea, although that victory came in the same fixture last season. Eidevall went on to say that history doesn’t hold huge importance, it is more about the future.
He said “I think when you look at the team and when we see togetherness, togetherness in this, the foundation in order to achieve something because when you feel togetherness, you feel safety and you feel that somebody will have your back. If you try and you’re not successful, somebody will have your back. When you create that and when you create that togetherness, you will get to a team that plays without fear, that are brave, that are front-footed, that want to seize the opportunities and a team that plays to win, not to lose. For me, that’s the transformation I would like to see this team going through.
“Many players have been involved in all of these seven games against Chelsea but that doesn’t mean that the eighth game has to be the same way. That’s what impresses me most with individuals within teams, it’s about being able to change and develop and to go from one situation and transform it into another. For us, this is an opportunity to change that. We can’t change history but we can change the future.”
Arsenal’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Chelsea kicks-off at 12pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
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