Arsenal thrashed Chelsea 4-1 at the Emirates in front of a record WSL crowd; win moves Jonas Eidevall's team joint top of the table with Chelsea, but in second place on goal difference; WSL champions suffer their first league loss of the season
Monday 11 December 2023 14:57, UK
Jonas Eidevall hailed Arsenal's 4-1 thrashing of Women's Super League champions Chelsea as their best display of the season, in contrast to opposite number Emma Hayes who labelled her side's disjointed performance as the worst she had seen from her players in a long time.
The resounding victory saw Arsenal move level on points with Chelsea at the top of the WSL standings, albeit sitting in second place on goal difference as the two London rivals once again battle it out for the title.
"It is a really strong performance, especially the first half when we killed the game and that is the best we have played this season," said Eidevall after the game.
"We have shown our potential which we know we have, but we have not really played at that level, so that was really pleasing to see.
"There are still two more games until Christmas, even how great that was, there is another game on Wednesday [at home to Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup] and then on Saturday [at Spurs in the WSL, live on Sky Sports], so it is not Christmas yet!"
Next up for Arsenal in the league is a tricky-looking trip across north London to face arch rivals Tottenham on Saturday lunchtime, with Eidevall adamant Sunday's impressive showing will count for nothing unless his players back it up with a similar display at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"For us, if I am going to summarise in some ways when we played Chelsea here two and half seasons ago and I was knee sliding after that game as that felt big," the Swede said.
"Now the only thing that matters is the position in the league. It is great that we won today, I am really proud of the performance, but let's not get carried away with it, it does not count for anything if we are not ready for Saturday against Tottenham.
"The reality is we now play on Wednesday in the Conti Cup which is really important and we need to be focused for that."
It is great that we won today, I am really proud of the performance, but let's not get carried away with it, it does not count for anything if we are not ready for Saturday against Tottenham.
One other major positive as far as Arsenal were concerned was the performance of returning striker Beth Mead, who opened the scoring early on in front of a new record WSL crowd at the Emirates.
"You can see how that is coming step by step, we are coming from the Aston Villa game where she is coming on and playing 10 minutes, and then she has an impact here," Eidevall added.
"And now she can start games and we can see the old Beth Mead, where she counter presses and is great with her one-versus-one ability and it is great to see her back."
As for the visitors, Hayes did not hold back with her post-match assessment, claiming the champions - who lost for the first time in the league this season - had struggled all afternoon, with her players bullied by the opposition.
"I'm not going to sit here and make any excuses," said the Chelsea boss. "That's as bad as I've seen us for a long time and when you play top level games and lots of our players have, Arsenal had four shots on goal in the first half and three goals. If we want to compete, we have to be better than that.
"So in the first half, 3-1 makes the game difficult. The better team won by a country mile and they bullied us. I thought they dominated in the duels. I think all phases of our play were poor. This is not about particular individuals, I think as a team, that was disappointing.
"At half-time, you're chasing the game. You're trying to score a goal and you can see a little more space. We haven't been anywhere near it to compete. Nonetheless, Arsenal executed everything they set out to do and they thoroughly deserve to win.
"We were bullied in the duels, in the number of duels we lost in the game. They're at home and coming off the back of internationals, but I'm not making excuses. We are disappointed.
"You can't concede three goals from four shots at any level of football and expect to win a game… I felt as a team, we just struggled. This isn't about any one player, we struggled as a team. It was a long 98 minutes today.
"They set up in a 4-2-3-1 in and around the middle phases. LJ [Lauren James] was coming inside, but they were tripling up on her so I wanted to get on the outside because there was space there, but we couldn't execute the basic things.
"And even when we did so well to win the ball back, we gave it away again. And it's so difficult to coach when you have no control in a certain way. I felt today we lacked that across the pitch and I have a dressing room that will acknowledge and own that."
However, Hayes was also philosophical about the defeat, pointing to how her players reacted the last time they lost to Arsenal in last season's Conti Cup final when they went on to hold off the Gunners and retain their WSL crown.
"The last time we had a defeat like this in the Conti Cup final, we did OK," she added. "You have to get beaten, you can't go a whole season unbeaten, there are lots of top teams. But what you cannot do is give away three goals before the half and then just give it up.
But we've not lost the title, we've not lost the final, just three points.
"You could say they could have scored more in the second half of course. They're in a winning position, they commit numbers forward, they're on top, they're playing at home. Points are irrelevant, but we weren't good enough going forward either.
"We talk like teams don't lose football matches. We've lost the football match, but it is not the end of the world. Are we disappointed? Of course we are. But we've not lost the title, we've not lost the final, just three points. It's disappointment not just with result but also the performance.
"With any positives on today's performance - I've got a 20-minute drive home."
Sky Sports' Charlotte Marsh at the Emirates:
This one will sting for Emma Hayes and Chelsea. They simply do not lose games in this manner. In a footballing sense, they are usually the bullies and not the bullied.
Chelsea have not always played at their best - it's just not possible every week - but they have come away with results against other teams.
However, the slick Arsenal attack which has been revving up for a big moment punished Chelsea in all of their weakest areas. Hayes was right when she said it was disappointing across the board.
Eve Perisset and Maren Mjelde struggled in the first half, the latter too easily outpaced by Russo for Arsenal's third. Half-time introductions Ashley Lawrence and Kadeisha Buchanan did shore things up, making vital interceptions, especially late on.
However, it was clear that Millie Bright's presence in the centre of defence was sorely missed. Hayes expects her captain to be out until after Christmas.
Ann-Katrin Berger - usually so reliable for Chelsea - should not have come out so early for Arsenal's second, which allowed Ilestedt to nod home.
While she will maintain she should not have been penalised for her bundle into Russo, Berger should have allowed Carter to deal with the situation. As an experienced 'keeper, she knows as soon as she comes out, she is taking a big risk. That did not pay off for her today.
Arsenal also did a brilliant job of stifling the talents of Lauren James and Sam Kerr. Two players who are so influential and key to Chelsea's attack were not given any time on the ball. The Blues were unable to counteract that with so many areas just not clicking.
Chelsea have suffered defeats before - some coming against Arsenal at the Emirates - and recovered, but it does blow the WSL title race wide open. These encounters against fellow top sides can often have a huge say in where the trophy ends up.
However, expect these two to go toe-to-toe for that WSL title. Let's not discount Manchester City either, as we settle in for a gripping five months.
