Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall was pleased to see his side pass a ‘big test’ in a 2-0 win at Liverpool on Sunday.
First-half goals from Lia Walti and Frida Maanum gave the Gunners a relatively comfortable victory on Merseyside and a record 10th clean sheet.
And Eidevall said: “We knew this was going to be a big test with their long throws and set-pieces and direct style of play. It was a real strength to see the defenders who started the game and handled it.
“Lotte [Wubben-Moy] played brilliantly throughout but then Jen Beattie makes a very good sub coming on. It shows the importance of players being ready to come in so we could sub off some really tired legs in the second half, and I thought that brought stability to our performance.
“Without that I think we would’ve looked really tired in the end.”
Vivianne Miedema was on the bench for the second consecutive game and when Eidevall was asked how hard she would have to work to get back into the team, he added: “Everyone at Arsenal has to work hard, it’s the obligation everyone has when they are representing this club. In the games and in training we are a team, we go 100 per cent. That applies to everyone, not only Viv.”
Steph Catley continued to impress at centre-back alongside Wubben-Moy in the absence of Leah Williamson and Rafaelle and Eidevall praised their partnership.
He said: “The whole squad has reacted to that challenge of losing the first choice centre-halves in a very short time, putting processes and workflows together on the pitch as a unit. They have done that very, very well and they have been so good at communicating with each other and collaborating, and that is a great starting point.
“Then, of course, it helps when you get rewarded with clean sheets and wins, it’s not like the opponents didn’t have any chances but we work very hard to get the margins on our side and that always helps.”
Goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger was also praised, with Eidevall saying: “She was very commanding in the air, that’s really important to be able to dominate that territory. That is something Manu has really developed so well over the last 12 months. We don’t have much time in training to prepare so we need to learn from the games.”
And of Maanum playing in a role higher up the pitch, he added: “A lot of the time our 10s are in that position, this was another really good performance from Frida, you could see she was tired at the end, but she works incredibly hard and it’s nice to see she gets the rewards from a long period of working really hard in training and preparing herself, and being ready when the opportunity arises.”
Arsenal are back in WSL action on Sunday as West Ham United visit Meadow Park for a 6.45pm kick-off and the game live on Sky.
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