Jonas Eidevall was delighted to see Leah Williamson return from a long-term Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury to come off the bench against Reading on Wednesday night.

“It was really nice to see her being able to step onto the field again,” said the Arsenal head coach.

“Of course she has been training a lot with us lately and last week she has been able to train fully as well, so for me it didn’t come as a surprise, but I think when you haven’t seen her in training then maybe things happen more quickly. It’s really great, it’s a great addition.”

“I think it’s tricky coming on as a central defender sometimes. Thirty minutes there and you need to get into the rhythm of it, but I think it was a nice game to come into because we saw a lot of the ball, so it was a lot of decision-making.”

Williamson marked her return to the side with the assist. “The pass to Beth Mead’s goal is almost as good as the finish is!” said Eidevall. “She’s definitely still got it! If you’ve been worried, then you can stop worrying.”

“It’s two world-class players, and when you see a moment like that in the Reading game, you see their qualities. Of course, when you’re coming back from an injury it’s about being consistent and being able to do that on a consistent level, day in, day out. Both having Beth back and Leah back and other players coming back is great additions for us, and it gives us great potential for the season coming on.”

England captain Williamson will provide Arsenal with a significant boost as they kick off the second half of their WSL campaign.

Eidevall looked forward to what the talented defender will bring to his side. “I don’t think necessarily that we will change our style, but of course what Leah gives you as a player- both her ability to pass the ball between lines and break down defensive organisation, but of course she is very capable of handling one-v-one situations, so she can be quite aggressive in her positions and suffocating forwards.

“Those are two skills that are really important for us in the way we play, so it’s not about us changing our way of playing, it’s just that we get a player who is very good at this way of playing.”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s game against Liverpool, Eidevall said: “Liverpool is a very capable team. They obviously didn’t have the strongest performance in their last game against Manchester City and they’re probably going to be up to correct that against us. They’re aggressive in their pressing, they go player for player and you need to be able to deal with that, and deal with that intensity as well, which is a challenge, but we’re up for it.”

The Arsenal head coach confirmed that his side would have the same squad to pick from against Liverpool as they did in midweek in the Conti Cup. “We have a really good squad to select,” said the Swede, who said that Arsenal could still do more deals in the January transfer window.

Eidevall also provided an update on Lina Hurtig, who remains sidelined with an injury: “I think any player who goes from injuries, it’s a tough time, especially when it becomes repeated injuries. I don’t have any clear prognosis on Lina at the moment, which of course is frustrating, but we have to wait and see and when we know more, hopefully we can communicate.”

Eidevall is asked about his highlights in (almost) 100 games as head coach: Beating Lyon away, winning the Conti Cup against Chelsea, and reaching the UWCL semi-finals despite their injury difficulties- “sharing that moment with a packed Emirates Stadium was special.” ???

— Freddie Cardy (@CardyFreddie) January 26, 2024