Soccer

Jonas Eidevall expects Arsenal to face a tough Champions League qualifying test

Rangers are the opponents at Meadow Park on Wednesday.

Jonas Eidevall said his Arsenal side will need to be at their best to avoid another early European exit against Rangers
Jonas Eidevall said his Arsenal side will need to be at their best to avoid another early European exit against Rangers (Bradley Collyer/PA)
By Robert O'Connor, PA

Jonas Eidevall said his Arsenal side will need their best form when they host Rangers on Wednesday if they are to avoid making another early Champions League exit.

The team were dumped out before the competition reached its group stage last season and will be without Beth Mead and Steph Catley for the game at Meadow Park.

Both players are nursing muscle problems, with Mead having missed a portion of the team’s United States tour with a groin injury and Catley out with a minor issue.

Defeat on penalties to Paris FC last season meant Arsenal were eliminated before the tournament proper and Eidevall challenged his players to ensure there is no repeat against the Scottish Women’s Premier League side.

“There are few teams that get the opportunity to play in the Champions League so of course it is an opportunity,” he said.

“We know the qualification stage is not easy. Just ask Manchester City (eliminated in the first round in 2023-24) what they think about it.

“We very much see ourselves as a European club but we know it isn’t easy. It will be a real challenge but we’re ready for it.”

Rangers come into the game off the back of a thumping 10-0 win over Dundee United on Sunday that saw them go top of the SWPL.

The winner of Wednesday’s game will progress to play either Atletico Madrid or Rosenborg on Sunday for a place in round two, the tournament’s final phase before it reaches the group stage.

“It’s knockout football,” said Eidevall. “We need to bring our very best from the first second of the game to the very last.

“We know how tricky this stage is. We are expecting a very good opponent and we will do our very best to try to progress.”

Captain Leah Williamson was absent for last season’s qualifying-round disappointment as she was condoning her recovery from an ACL injury, but said that the hurt and regret suffered by the team will be motivation against Rangers.

Leah Williamson missed last season’s qualifying-round disappointment
Leah Williamson missed last season’s qualifying-round disappointment (Nigel French/PA)

“I think last year was a hurtful situation,” she said. “We were left to regret that for the rest of the year. Everyone knows what it feels like to lose and nobody wants to feel that again.

“I think we’re ready and everyone knows what it means. There will certainly be nobody going on the pitch tomorrow not wanting to win.

“We’ve obviously underperformed. There’s been a number of teams at the top of the game that try to take trophies off each other.

“It doesn’t always go your way. I don’t think we’ve been that far away. I feel we’re getting closer. I’m enjoying the way we play. Our level does need to go up but I don’t think we’re too far away.”