Jonas Eidevall spoke to the media ahead of Sunday’s WSL opener against Manchester City at Emirates Stadium.

The Arsenal head coach looked back on his side’s Champions League first leg qualifying defeat to BK Hacken and discussed Vivianne Miedema’s return to North London amongst many topics.

Frustration with the BK Hacken defeat

“I think we’re a group that is very good moving forward, very good looking towards the next challenge. It was a disappointing result, I think we could have done a better performance with that game. We know what we did and what we need to do better and different, and we’re all on the same page on that. That was important for today that we all have a collective idea on what we need to do differently, and from there we move on to City with one hundred percent focus.

“[On Arsenal against low blocks] This is the thing with progress. It would be so easy if it would be linear. I think BK Hacken was a step backwards for us. And that’s what I meant when I said before, we know what we did in that game. We also very much know what we need to do better in order to do that. So BK Hacken was a step backwards. But sometimes you take a step backwards so you can race forward.”

Injury updates

“[Leah Williamson] is OK. I don’t really have all the information yet regarding the whole squad, but when it comes to Leah Williamson- yes, there was a problem that led to her not being in an ideal position to start the game against Hacken. That should not be the case now towards Sunday. I don’t know anyone else [with knocks], luckily.”

“We have a timeline [for Steph Catley and Lina Hurtig]. It’s not official, but Sunday they will not be available for.”

Amanda Ilestedt’s new arrival

Congratulations to Amanda Ilestedt and her partner! pic.twitter.com/RtMKodcTde

— Freddie Cardy (@CardyFreddie) September 20, 2024

“We’re so happy for Amanda and for Rainer, her partner, and their very cute little baby, Mila. And right now they need to stay together as a family. Of course there is a plan to return to play, Amanda wants to return to play, but this time here now we need to be guided about what she’s feeling, and when she’s ready to return over here in the UK and start taking part in training, we’ll be ready to welcome here.”

Vivianne Miedema’s return to the Emirates Stadium with Manchester City

“Like I said before, Viv has such a great history with 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 that now she plays for our competitor. We know that she’s a very strong opponent against us and we need to focus on our part during the game. We need to make our things as good as possible, and from thereon that needs to be our focus.

“There’s not so many secrets when you see City play or when you see us play. You get what you see. And City is very distinct in the way they are playing. They have a very clear game model and they’re very good at executing that. And of course it comes the same to individual players. With Viv it probably works both ways. Yes, we know a lot about her, she also knows a lot about us. It’s gonna be who applies that knowledge best.”

Over 40,000 fans will cheer on Arsenal on Sunday

“That’s incredible. We talked about that a little bit today, saying that this is the first women’s team that will come to the Emirates and have that as their main home stadium. That’s credit to a lot of players and staff that are here now that have made this happen, but it’s also credit to the history and all the players and staff that were here before us. 

“It really feels when we zoom out that that is a groundbreaking moment, and it’s a privilege. But now with that privilege comes a responsibility, and now we need to do something really great with that opportunity that has been presented to us. We need to do that together with our supporters, and Sunday is the start of that.”