Following our 2-1 win over Washington Spirit on Sunday afternoon, Jonas Eidevall was full of praise for our squad's strong start to pre-season.
"We wanted to start the season fast," said our head coach after the full-time whistle. "We wanted to get answers to the difficult questions we knew we were going to be posed today. How can we play in quite uncomfortable conditions?
"They reacted really well - that was so pleasing to see. We were playing against a good Washington Spirit team that really challenged us."
"The players have been phenomenal. I think they're putting real intent and real focus into every single minute of every training session and every meeting. Let that be our standard. We can't drop."
Alongside some vital minutes under the belt for our squad, the fixture also provided an opportunity for our academy prospects to shine.
"I think when you are playing young players, what you're trying to do is also to create an environment where they can be successful. That comes back to a one-team mentality of how we communicate, how we work together, and what our togetherness looks like on the pitch.
"These are players who have been up training with us regularly, getting exposure to the demands of playing with us, and I think what you saw today was a result of that.
Click the play button above to hear more from Jonas.
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.