Arsenal Women head coach Jonas Eidevall labelled Steph Catley’s performance at centre-back as “Brilliant” as the Gunners beat Leicester at Emirates Stadium.

With Lotte Wubben-Moy injured and centre-back Laia Codina returning from injury, Catley partnered Leah Williamson in the centre of defence, helping to keep a clean sheet as well as assisting Alessia Russo’s goal.

Asked about Catley’s impressive display, Eidevall said: “Sometimes you can think about the international breaks and they can disturb the rhythm you have in the team. 

“But sometimes they can also prepare your players for situations that can come in really handy. 

“Some of you will know Steph Catley played for Australia against Mexico as a left centre-half and even if it was a long time ago since she did it at Arsenal, she still has that practice from that game and that shows very well here. We are grateful for that today.”

Eidevall also discussed Caitlin Foord’s freer role on the left wing: “The way we could build using Steph Catley as a left central defender gave us a lot of options. There were pros and cons going on the right or left side, we just needed to be aware of those. 

“But as you saw, we had fluidity, we were not set in that or doing one thing. A lot of that is the decision making of the players, what they need to consider is that we need to attack with balance and making sure we see that players move and start to react.”

Eidevall mentions that Steph Catley played LCB for Australia in the international break after being asked by @jamiespangher about Catley’s excellent display, “we’re grateful for that today.”

— Freddie Cardy (@CardyFreddie) April 21, 2024