Arsenal are third in the Barclays WSL, with their title hopes hanging by a thread after last Friday's defeat to Chelsea; watch West Ham vs Chelsea on Sky Sports Premier League from 4pm on Sunday; kick-off 4.30pm and then Aston Villa vs Arsenal, kick-off 6.45pm
Sunday 24 March 2024 06:49, UK
Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall admits Arsenal have had "a very inconsistent season, but says it's important to stay constructive and evaluate in order to change that.
The Gunners are third in the WSL table, with six games left to play, and exited the FA Cup and the Champions League at earlier this season at the fifth round and the first qualifying round respectively.
Eidevall's side do have the Conti Cup final against Chelsea to look forward to on March 31, but their title hopes took a significant blow last Friday night, when they were beaten 3-1 by the Blues in front of a crowd of 33,000 at Stamford Bridge.
"It's a very human thing for the mind to drift because you're naturally very disappointed about what is happening and in something you're investing a lot of your emotions into," said the Swede, speaking in his press conference ahead of Arsenal's trip to Aston Villa on Sunday night, which is live on Sky Sports Premier League.
"Then you have, I wouldn't say problem, but a situation where you have a long time between the games, which can allow your mind to drift for a longer time than usual before you need to prepare for the next opponent.
"Our season so far has been a very inconsistent one. Where you can see progress has been in individual games and individual periods of the season, where we have shown we are a very capable football team playing some really good football and being able to compete and beat all of our competitors.
"But what we haven't been able to show is that we are a team doing that consistently and are able to perform at that standard consistently - and that's disappointing. That's really where I hope we could get with this team.
"Other reasons for why we are not there? Of course there are some reasons to it. We're in a season where we are changing a lot with players coming in and building new relationships on the team."
Eidevall alluded to the fact the coaching staff at the north London club are always working on ways to improve - with an unorthodox analogy to describe that.
"It's important to try and stay as constructive as possible - and now I'm just talking from my side - and to always be very mindful," he added.
"What can we control in this? Am I putting my focus on where I can control these things? What things do we need to do short-term? And what things do we need to do long-term?
"That evaluation process in changing things long-term, I don't believe you just put your head in the sand and continue to work during the season and then you have this big review process after the season.
"I would compare it to a plane crash sometimes.
"What usually leads to the plane crashing might be a very, very tiny detail, but you need to go through all the processes and all the details to find there was an oil leakage, for example, and how we fix that for next time.
"Usually, the things you need to oversee and fix does not necessarily need to be the biggest one. It might be one detail, but the effect that detail has is a big one. That's the responsibility for me and the organisation to find that.
"That's a part where we need to improve and do that better, but I'm not waiting until the end of the season to try and find the reasons why we have been inconsistent. That's an ongoing process and we need to work with that."
Watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal in the Barclays Women's Super League on Sky Sports Premier League from 6.30pm on Sunday; kick-off 6.45pm.
Meanwhile Chelsea, who are top of the table on goal difference ahead of Manchester City and six points clear of Arsenal, are being driven by the fear of failure, head coach Emma Hayes has told Sky Sports.
Hayes insisted her side were not taking anything for granted, despite beating Arsenal 3-1 last time out in the WSL.
"I like pressure, I like the expectation," said Hayes. "I cope really well in those situations and I think the more you put on me, I ride that well and I think my team does a very good job of mirroring that.
"We're not sitting here thinking anything is won, far from it. We have everything to lose, that's what's on our mind.
"Everything has to be spot on and one moment for us we can't afford to be second to anything. The fear of losing drives us more than the desire to win."
Watch West Ham vs Chelsea in the Barclays Women's Super League on Sky Sports Premier League from 4pm on Sunday; kick-off 4.30pm.
