Jonas Eidevall on Sam Kerr and Arsenal focus ahead of…

Jonas Eidevall on Sam Kerr and Arsenal focus ahead of Conti Cup clash with Chelsea

Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall insists stopping Sam Kerr isn't the only thing his side must do to overcome Chelsea in the Conti Cup final on Sunday.

The Gunners take on their London rivals at Selhurst Park on Sunday in a bid to clinch their first piece of silverware since their league win in 2019. In order to do so, they must overcome a team that beat them 2-0 at Kingsmeadow in the FA Cup only a week ago.

Sophie Ingle and Kerr were on the scoresheet for Emma Hayes' side to help the Blues through to the next round, but Eidevall believes there's much more to this Chelsea team than their key goalscorer.

"I think Sam Kerr is, of course, a very good player but whenever you play a team like Chelsea you can’t only focus on one player. It’s about how you work as a collective," he told the media this week.

"You could see in the game that we played last Sunday that the number of touches and the number of chances Kerr had wasn’t a lot. For the most part of the game we were doing a really good job and it’s about continuing to do that and doing it to perfection this time."

One of Arsenal's biggest problems against Chelsea last time out was putting the ball in the back of the net and capitalising on their openings. Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius both had opportunities to get the Gunners right back in it, but those chances were squandered every time.

Eidevall, though, says they've worked on everything in training this week to ensure they're ready to take on Chelsea.

"I think the easiest thing to do is say we have one problem in the last game, so no we focus 100% of our time on that," he continued. "Then I’ll tell you something else will be the problem.

"In football, you need to work on everything. It’s a whole, it’s not only about executing chances, it’s still about creating chances, it’s still about defending, it’s still about pressing and building up.

"That’s 80% of our work, it’s always to work on that whole connectivity. All the phases of football."

A big miss for Arsenal this season has been two key players in their attack as both Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema are currently sidelined with long-term injuries. The Gunners boss, however, says they cannot focus on what they can't control.

He added: "It’s about not focusing on problems, it’s about focusing on possibilities. You can’t change certain things, for example, you can’t change the squad now the transfer window is closed.

"But what we can change is the way we attack together and to see these possibilities. I think there was some really good elements in the game we played last Sunday but there are also things you can see that would work better together and that would get even better use of the players we have and their strengths.

"That’s what we as a team need to utilise more often and that’s what I’m thinking about. That’s what can make us better for the future."

This week they will be boosted by the return of Lina Hurtig, who is set to return to the squad after she picked up an injury on international duty. However, a late call will be made on goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo.

Sunday's opponents also have no fresh injury concerns as Hayes confirmed in her press conference the same squad will be available this week. Chelsea last won the competition in 2021, whereas Arsenal haven't lifted this specific trophy since 2018.

Last term, it was Manchester City that claimed the honours after they beat Chelsea 3-1 in the final but Arsenal remain the record holders in the competition with five titles to their name. They'll hope to make it six in front of a sell-out crowd at Selhurst Park this Sunday.

Kick-off is at 3pm and the match will be broadcast live for UK viewers on BBC One and can be streamed on BBC iPlayer.

READ NEXT:

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here