Ahead of tomorrow's Champions League opener against Bayern Munich, Jonas Eidevall has held his pre-match press conference.
Lia Walti also joined our head coach to address the media at Sobha Realty Training Centre.
Here is everything they had to say:
On being ready for our Champions League group stage opener…
JE: Exciting, we start against a really tough opponent, a top European team. We go away, I feel it’s really exciting to be playing these games. This is what we want to be in the Champions League for, we want to play against the best, and we want to be the best, so we’re looking forward to it.
LW: Totally agree. As a player, you want to compete with the best teams in Europe. Bayern is one of the best teams, currently dominating the German league and I think that’s exactly who we want to be measured against. I’m really looking forward to seeing where we’re at as a team.
On whether we prioritise the competitions we’re in…
JE: Well, the Champions League for me is very special. It’s with the best teams, it’s the one competition where you’re competing outside your own country. We’re in four competitions, the Champions League and the league will always be very special to me and to the team. Right now, we’re in a situation where we need to go full throttle in both of them, and then so it has to be.
On managing the schedule in our upcoming busy period…
JE: I think I made it clear before the game against Everton what could be different from a schedule perspective. Now we are just focused game-by-game, doing our very best to prepare here for Bayern Munich and just looking ahead to the challenges. You’re right about that, this is exciting, these are the games we want to be playing, we don’t want to sit at home watching other teams playing these games - we want to take part in them.
On competing for big honours…
LW: I think the Champions League is a competition we all want to win. It’s the biggest stage, again you can compete against the best players in the world, against the best teams. I do think and believe we belong there, and I do think we have the quality to be competing to one day win the trophy with the team we have. I think why not season, why not having a good start tomorrow against Bayern Munich, arguably the toughest opponent in our group. I’m looking forward to it, I’m really excited for it and glad for the team that we’re back on the big stage.
On being able to put Sunday’s result against Everton behind us…
JE: Yeah, I agree with you, it was frustrating. I think we as a team, we like to go forward, we want to show another version of ourselves and it’s an excellent opportunity to do that tomorrow night.
On if the players feel the same way about Everton…
LW: Yeah, I think after games like that, you just want to play again and show that you can do it better. I think we all know that we didn’t show up on that day the way we wanted but there is a new opportunity tomorrow. Football is a quick business so things change in every moment, and I think we can turn it around tomorrow. Full focus on that and hopefully we get some chances in the net tomorrow.
On if we will rotate…
JE: To your point earlier, I think we have a really good squad. I think it’s about using the squad to the best of its possibilities and playing the best players at their best moments. I wouldn’t go into saying that we’re trying to rotate or save, it’s about selecting the best team for every game here to try and win.
On Bayern Munich…
JE: They’re really strong in the counter-attacking game. They move with a lot of pace once they’re facing forward and that part you have to look out for when you’re playing against them. I think they’ve been looking really strong on their set pieces so far this season, really good deliveries on both corners and free kicks, so that’s another part you need to watch out for. They’re well organised, a good team but so are we, and while they have strengths, they’ll also have weaknesses, and we need to exploit them. We need to mitigate our weaknesses and play to our strengths, and that’s going to be the tactical battle here tomorrow night.
On whether Lia is worried Jonas may not start her tomorrow…
LW: Not really wasting my energy on that.
On the latest team news and if there are any injuries…
JE: No, nothing that changes from the game against Everton.
On how playing a quick succession of games in a short period of time may help or hinder in terms of preparing for the next match…
JE: I think that's the reality when you work and you're involved in European football, that there is very seldom a week where you will go six, seven days between the games, and you sort of can have all this time on the training pitch, and you can work on things, and you can reflect on them. You’re in a fast-moving business to Lia’s point, and you have to learn from the games. You have to learn in the tactics room. You have to make sure that the 40/50 minutes you spend on the pitch, that they're really sharp and to the point, and that we get connected and are on the same page, and that's part of the challenge when you work with this schedule, but that you just have to accept and make the most out of it.
On the team looking forward to bouncing back from the weekend…
JE: Yes, I feel so, what about you?
LW: Yes, I think as a player again, as I said before, when you have a disappointing result like against Everton, you just want to bounce back as soon as you can. And think that's a positive thing about these quick turnarounds. We have another chance tomorrow. We know about the quality of this team, and we all are really, really motivated to prove to fans and everybody that we can do better. So here we go, and we're ready for tomorrow.
On what it’s like competing against the top teams in the Champions League…
Again, it's what we want. I think last year that was the most painful thing to watch these games and not being involved in it, because we know we have the quality to compete with these teams and to go pretty far in this competition. So, I think it's a really good group we have here, but we're aiming for first place in this group, and for that, we need a win tomorrow, and I think the team is ready.
On how important each of the away games are…
JE: I mean, I think we were playing in a similar group two seasons ago, when we had Lyon, Juventus, and FC Zurich. Both Lyon and Juventus were top teams in that group. And the first game, we started away against Lyon, and we managed to win 5-1, and it was really setting us up nicely. And then we won the group, which is a great way to go into the quarterfinals. So yes, it is really important to get results.
I think it's really important to get off to a good start, not only results-wise, but also performance-wise, because, as you mentioned before, we turned around that quarter-final against Bayern Munich at home, but I think we had a second half in that away game that really showed a nice performance where we were really brave and qualitative in a way that we played. And I think that filled us with a lot of belief for what we needed to do and what we needed to turn around at Emirates. So we know it's going to be a difficult game tomorrow, but we need to trust in the way that we play. We need to be a brave football team that trusts our strengths. And if we can do that, I know we're going to be proud of our performance tomorrow.
On what it’s like having a player like Mariona Caldentey in the squad…
JE: She's a great addition to our team. I love working with her. She's demanding. She's a winner. She's not coming to Arsenal because she's complacent, or thinks that she has won enough, she's so hungry, just like the rest of us, to win and, like I said, great addition, she comes with a lot of great, great details. And really enjoy working with her.
on Mariona taking us to the next level in this competition...
JE: I think, as a team, we need to take ourselves to that level. [Mariona] is a really important part of the team, so yes, she has contributions to her, but it's never going to be only one player that's going to make this for us. One of our real strengths is how we play together as a team, and that's what we need to focus on. And if we can do that, both on and off the ball, then we're a really hard team to play against.
On three consecutive clean sheets giving us confidence…
JE: It has and that's the positive way to look at it. We're putting so high standards on ourselves and we're so demanding of ourselves and what we want to go out. And usually what happens is that whenever something is not working, then that becomes the focus. But you are right. I think defensively against Everton, we played a very, very solid game. We were pressing really well. We limited them to having almost no possession, not having much chance creation at all. And if we're going to be successful tomorrow night, we will need to have both parts in our game. We need to continue to play really good defence, but then also have really good attacking plays.
On Bayern’s manager calling us ‘favourites’ in the group…
JE: I think it's a pointless discussion. This is totally pointless discussion - who is a favourite and who is not a favourite. We want to win. They want to win. Everyone is going to do their absolute best in trying to win, and we put our focus there. Then others can decide who is the favourite or not.
On whether Lia Walti is excited for this season and the Euros in Switzerland next summer…
LW: On a personal level, I think I generally just try to live in the moment. Take day by day, game by game. I think it's a season like every season before. Yes, you can think about it a lot, and then it's some pressure or some excitement, especially with the home Euros coming up. But you know, so much can happen in football, and you never know where you're going to be next summer. Are you going to be fit? Are you going to be injured? Obviously, you hope for the best but as we spoke before, football is a quick business. So you have to be right here, right now. Tomorrow is right now the focus for us. And then obviously everything which is coming after is exciting, but something to speak about in the future, I guess.
On working alongside Kyra Cooney-Cross…
LW: Yeah, I think it's maybe my role as well now, as an older player, to help the young players grow their game and improve them their game. I think Kyra brings a lot of strengths with the ball, with driving the ball, where I can probably look up to her a little bit and take something out of her game. But defensively, I guess it is about giving her advice to step in the right positions, to cover the team well. And she does ask every now and then. Obviously, we're one team so whoever plays, we support each other. I want her to improve her game because I do think she is a big, big talent and can be big for Arsenal in the future. So yeah, she's a good one.
On Bayern Munich…
JE: I think they're a very well-organised team, and they're really strong when they face forward if that's counter-attacks or if they're playing through opposition pressure. It's full throttle once they face forward and are in front of your defending line, and they have players that are really good at driving at you with speed and coming at you with pace, with quick attacks. That's probably what really stands out.
On the prospect of Chelsea on Saturday…
JE: Yeah, I can do a lot of things, but I can't think about those two opponents at the same time - to Lia’s point. Now we need to focus on Bayern Munich and do that as well as possible. And after that, we take on Chelsea.
On our wingers being too narrow against Everton…
JE: Yeah, I agree with you. You can probably join our analyst team at one point. I thought that was a step backwards for us in the way we were structured and that's part of what we need to to improve.
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