Arsenal completely focused on Manchester City after UWCL defeat says Eidevall

Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall says that his side are 100% focused on Sunday’s Barclays Women’s Super League season-opener against Manchester City.

The Gunners’ UEFA Women’s Champions League hopes suffered a setback in midweek as they lost 1-0 to BK Häcken in the first leg of their Round 2 tie.

Arsenal have to overturn that deficit next week but they must first battle out a huge league fixture against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Eidevall said that all of his side’s focus is on Manchester City and that there will be no hangover from the BK Häcken defeat.

“We’re a group that is very good moving forward and very good looking towards the next challenge,” Eidevall said. “I agree with you in that it was a disappointing result. I think we could have put on a better performance as well in that game. We know what we did and what we need to do better and differently, and we’re all on the same page on that.

“What was important for today is that we have a really clear collective idea of what we need to do differently, and from then on, we now move onto City with 100% focus.”

An Arsenal-Manchester City fixture provides a blockbuster start to the new Barclays Women’s Super League season and Eidevall agrees that it’s a great way to get going on a domestic level.

He said “I think there have been so many exciting games during my years here against Manchester City. Every game, apart from the first one, has been decided by very thin margins. They have been exciting games to be involved in. I think they’ve been exciting games to watch, both as a supporter and as a neutral spectator. It’s a great way to start the season.”

Arsenal legend Vivianne Miedema will line-up against her former club for the first time this weekend. Eidevall wishes the player well ahead of the new campaign.

He said “Viv has such a great history in the club. We wish her the best, I wish her the best. I truly hope that she has a really successful season because I think she deserves that.

“One of the big problems for us with letting her go is now she plays for our competitor and we know that she’s a very strong opponent against us. We need to focus on our part during the game. We need to make our things as good as possible and from here on, that needs to be our focus.

Arsenal’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Manchester City kicks-off at 12.30pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.