Jonas Eidevall said Arsenal must look at the club’s own practices to combat the injury crisis at the club that has left England without their captain Leah Williamson for the World Cup.
“We as a club need to look at the factors that we can control and do as good as possible, so we’re not sticking our heads in the sand and just blaming external factors,” said Eidevall on the eve of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Wolfsburg.
Williamson’s ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury is Arsenal’s third of the season. Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema are also ruled out.
“Of course, we’re going to miss Leah, just like we miss Beth and Viv, but it’s also about always looking forward as a football club and injuries are unfortunate, they are a part of elite sports, and we need to manage both as individuals and as a group,” added Eidevall.
“We have to accept that and make the best out of the situation. I think that has been part of the success this season, that even if players have been injured and haven’t been able to contribute on the pitch, they have been a really strong group off the pitch with people very invested and contributing still. I know that Leah will be doing that as well.”
The manager said that the Leigh Sports Village pitch was not perfect for Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United, but conceded the causes of ACL injuries such as Williamson’s are multifaceted.
“We have to look at where the sport is heading and we can see that there are more competitive games, more intensity than there’s ever been before and we know that’s only going to increase. When we know that it’s up to associations, governing bodies and clubs to say: we know that, we know this risk, what can we do? What can we learn from what has been? Are there things we can change and things we can do to better adapt to that situation? Hopefully there is.
“I might be wrong, but I don’t think Arsenal women ever have played as many competitive games within such a restricted period of time [as in recent months] and of course that’s going to put new demands on the players and teams. We need to adapt to that reality.”
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Eidevall said that Williamson was being “logical” about the injury. “She’s been around in the training ground which I think is great to stay connected to the team and to the people around you,” he said.