Why I blame Jonas Eidevall for Arsenal Women’s defeat at West Ham

It baffled me, as it must have you, to see the Arsenal Women losing 2-1 to West Ham. How the Hammers managed to pick up three points from the Gunners, I don’t know. They are a team battling relegation, while the Gunners are a team supposed to be battling for the league. On Sunday, the […] The post Why I blame Jonas Eidevall for Arsenal Women’s defeat at West Ham appeared first on Just Arsenal News.

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Why I blame Jonas Eidevall for Arsenal Women’s defeat at West Ham

It baffled me, as it must have you, to see the Arsenal Women losing 2-1 to West Ham. How the Hammers managed to pick up three points from the Gunners, I don’t know. They are a team battling relegation, while the Gunners are a team supposed to be battling for the league. On Sunday, the Gunner Women couldn’t show their superiority. For the first time (since facing West Ham in 2018), they lost to their London rivals. That loss is so shocking that you can’t imagine It was West Ham United’s first WSL home win of the season.

Anyway, why do you think the Arsenal Women lost? I believe that Manuela Zinsberger was partly at fault.
The Austrian goalie needs to pull up her socks. Tell me a game Arsenal have lost this season, versus Liverpool, versus Spurs, and then Sunday vs. West Ham, where she hasn’t been adjudicated to be at fault. Some goals she’s conceded when Arsenal have lost this season honestly leave the Gooners asking themselves, Could she have done better?

It is also telling that Jonas Eidevall’s subs didn’t work. He has a quality bench but couldn’t find a way to change the game around. Lia Walti wasn’t at her best. All she did was pass backwards. She ought to have been subbed off, probably for Kim Little. I don’t understand why Little didn’t feature; she could have been the difference-maker. Given McCabe was suspended for that game, when Leah Williamson subbed off, Eidevall should have had plans to bring Kim Little into the fray, but he didn’t. Which saw Arsenal women in the second half lack a leader on the pitch, with no knowledge or direction of how to break West Ham down. At no point was it likely that they were going to score after West Ham took the lead.

Taking off Leah Williamson at halftime wasn’t wise; what was wise was probably giving her a chance to feature in the last 45 minutes, introducing her at halftime, rather than starting her and so completely changing the defensive line. With McCabe forcing the change at fullback, two defensive changes were made in the starting lineup, which shook the defensive stability that had been experienced in the last few months.

I’m more than convinced Kim Little should have been introduced after West Ham took the lead. Her experience could have been valuable in Arsenal’s engine room.

Not signing a top goalie in the winter is also Jonas Eidevall’s fault and now he’s stuck with Zinsberger.

Other than those three, the referee officiating the game poorly, and the Arsenal women not being clinical, cost them the game.

Ultimately, not beating West Ham has put Arsenal in a tricky position in the title race. They had a chance to put Chelsea under pressure with a win, and now the Blues will not be stressed about the Gunners unless they also drop form and drop points, which is looking very unlikely at the moment.

Susan N

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