Arsenal women have been working on their training culture to surprise the opponent

  • last year
Transcript
00:00 on the left side of their defence, impressing them.
00:02 Chelsea do something very similar.
00:05 Was that a feature of your game plan today?
00:07 I thought I saw it quite a lot.
00:09 Yeah, I think your tactical eye is good, Tim.
00:12 I'll tell you that.
00:14 Yeah.
00:14 And one of the things that Emma Hayes highlighted before the game as well,
00:19 she talked about how strong Arsenal are on counter-attacks
00:22 and I felt like she got a good view of that again today.
00:26 How pleased were you with that aspect of the performance in particular
00:30 and how much did you talk about those opportunities to counter,
00:33 particularly down the sides?
00:35 We know the way Chelsea play defence also,
00:38 it's really important to not be stuck on the ball on your own half.
00:41 So either you break out.
00:43 And what I was really pleased about, especially in the first half,
00:46 was that we had a good mixture of from those moments
00:50 being able to create goal scoring opportunities,
00:52 but also put our foot on the ball and manage.
00:55 And it's a totally different game there to manage the ball on their half.
00:58 And I think the way we managed the ball against Chelsea,
01:01 I haven't seen any team apart from Barcelona doing that
01:05 that well against them over so long spells in the game.
01:10 So that was really nice to see.
01:11 Hi, Jonas.
01:14 I know in the week you spoke about those principles that you started to get right.
01:19 And I think against Manchester City, you called that 'fantastic'.
01:23 But this one felt even more complete.
01:26 So I was just wondering how you felt about that,
01:28 because people focus on that means scoring.
01:31 I also thought going back, she dealt with Lauren James really well.
01:35 No, you're right.
01:37 And against Manchester City, the first 15 minutes were poor from us.
01:42 But it's easy to forget that because the result was great.
01:45 But we turned over the ball so many times and on another day,
01:49 Manchester City could have scored
01:51 and we would have been off to a completely different start.
01:54 So one of the learnings was to say, like, how do we go into a game
01:59 to not only be surprised, not be surprised by the intensity of the opponent,
02:03 but trying to surprise them by the intensity.
02:07 And that has been our training culture.
02:09 And that has been the most important part of saying, like,
02:11 how do we get our training culture to a point where we can apply
02:15 our principles on an intensity level high enough
02:19 so we feel prepped going in and that everybody understands
02:22 that responsibility of what do I need to bring to training
02:27 in order for make the team being prepared
02:29 to do that? And I think that has been great.
02:33 It was great before the West Ham game and these two days here
02:37 leading up to Chelsea.
02:39 I think the players have been phenomenal in the way that they have trained,
02:42 that they have prepared.
02:43 So then it was extra pleasing to see that they could reap
02:47 the rewards from that.
02:50 And one something that went a little bit under the radar,
02:54 Lauren James was seen maybe kicking out a little bit.
02:58 Leo Voltia, I was wondering if you saw that and if you had any thoughts on that?
03:02 I saw it, but
03:07 yeah, I don't think I can really comment on it.
03:11 It's like I think we get six yellow cards, they get one yellow card in a game
03:15 where it's very even
03:18 from a foul perspective.
03:22 It is what it is. Emma?
03:26 Yeah, Jonas, congratulations on the win.
03:29 In terms of the overall performance, obviously we know that Arsenal
03:33 have obviously got the potential to play like that every week,
03:36 but is that kind of a sign that
03:38 this team is more than capable of winning the WSL,
03:42 especially with performances like that?
03:45 It's our strongest performance so far this season.
03:48 But in football, if you want to win things, you need to be consistent
03:51 with the performances.
03:53 So it's great that you have a high.
03:56 Now becomes what's your baseline?
03:58 What's your standard when you're playing?
04:01 And this is always the hard thing in football.
04:04 Now you need to recover, refresh both mentally, physically.
04:08 We need to be ready on Wednesday again.
04:11 I think what is telling for me when you see the reaction is,
04:15 yes, we're happy today, but at the end of the day,
04:19 it's our finishing position in the league.
04:22 That's what's going to matter.
04:24 Nothing has been won or lost today in that regard.
04:27 So stay focused, keep developing.
04:30 We need to have consistent and good performances.
04:34 And then this here can be very valuable.
04:37 But that's only going to be determined by the future performances.
04:42 I guess I totally take your point in terms of, you know, it's just one game.
04:46 But when you look at the potential psychological impact of the manner
04:50 in which you beat Chelsea, what impact do you think that can have on both
04:54 your side in a positive way, you know, going into the next couple of weeks?
04:57 And obviously Chelsea perhaps in a negative way for them?
05:00 Chelsea I don't comment on, but for us, of course, I
05:06 I think when you are aware of what you're doing,
05:10 that leads you to success, that increases the likelihood of you doing that again.
05:15 And I think like I answered Art's question before, just like our training culture,
05:21 I think has been really strong.
05:23 And I think that's a real key thing for us to keep a hold of that,
05:27 because I can really feel how we're using the competitiveness in our squad
05:32 in a really good way of preparing ourselves
05:35 for the next games and taking us to new heights.
05:38 But it's about doing that work day in, day out.
05:42 And there's no shortcuts to it.
05:44 Thank you. Jack.
05:46 Congratulations, Jonas.
05:49 I know every time we come here, we're talking about
05:51 and critical crowds, but another attendance record set today.
05:54 But not just the numbers, but also the whole atmosphere in general.
05:59 I saw after Chelsea scored, you were kind of like rallying the home support as well.
06:03 Yeah, I think they were great.
06:08 The crowd, I think there was a real clear synergy between the team
06:11 and the crowd today.
06:13 I think the crowd started off great, but so did the team.
06:17 And that took it to new heights.
06:19 And I think you could see that momentum when we scored 2-1,
06:24 that we scored 3-1 very closely after that.
06:27 That's something that I think it really helps with the crowd.
06:31 You could see players interacting a lot with the crowd,
06:36 getting their energy levels high up.
06:38 If you compare that to two and a half seasons ago,
06:41 those things happen so much more frequently.
06:44 And that's so good for our performance and for the atmosphere.
06:48 And now we just need to
06:52 to keep on pushing and having more experiences like this at Emmerich Stadium.
06:58 But today was a great club for the football club.
07:00 Anything further?
07:04 Yeah, I think it was...
07:06 Emma Haze said that her team bullied by you, by your side.
07:10 I mean, how do you explain what you believe the bullying aspect was?
07:16 You mentioned training intensity.
07:18 Is that part of the training intensity to bully the opposition wherever possible?
07:24 I wouldn't use that word because I think what we do is that we
07:31 we pass the ball really nice, we position really good.
07:35 And that makes, gives them much less time and space
07:40 in that. But that's our quality on the ball.
07:46 And what I think she might refer to is that they might feel a little bit
07:50 suffocated at times because the time and space becomes too little for that.
07:55 But I'm not sure, like I'm not a native speaker of English,
07:59 but I'm not sure that bullying is the right word to doing that.
08:03 I think we play some high quality football.
08:05 Yeah, I'm not a big believer in these 50/50 balls
08:22 because it's one comes out of the ball winning.
08:25 So it was obviously not 50/50.
08:27 It was 51/49 maybe. And why is it 51/49?
08:31 Because you have a better starting position.
08:33 Maybe you're a little bit more intelligent than your opposing player.
08:36 And maybe you're a little bit stronger.
08:39 So we turn a lot of those situations
08:44 that people say 50/50 to 51/49.
08:47 And that's really important in football.
08:49 We'll just get to Megan next.
08:51 Hi, Jens. Congratulations.
08:52 I just wanted to get your thoughts on Pallover's performance.
08:55 She didn't get on the score sheet, but she was absolutely everywhere.
08:58 And she really commanded that midfield today.
09:00 Yeah. So look at the first goal
09:04 and look at Pallover's run in that transition moment.
09:08 And you tell me that that run is not the investment
09:11 for a team that wants to win a football match.
09:14 And that's the whole difference that we end up getting Beth Mead on the ball there.
09:18 And she can show all her skill and all her composure and great finishing to score.
09:22 But to have a central midfielder that are able to invest that run into that.
09:27 And I think that's why Pallover has been so great for us here in the autumn,
09:32 because she's a great technical player.
09:35 She's street smart as well on the football pitch.
09:39 But my God, she runs now also.
09:42 And that's important and we need that.
09:45 And that's why she has been a really strong player for us lately.
09:47 Thank you. Rachel.
09:49 Hi, Jens. Congratulations again.
09:51 I saw Kim Lillenheim off in the second half.
09:52 I just wanted to update that as to how she's doing.
09:54 You know, it's been a while.
09:56 I spoke to Kim after.
09:58 I don't have a...
09:59 Can never have a clear update, but I don't think there is any major concern.
10:03 I think it's a matter of the...
10:05 Also the competition that we have in the squad and the feeling
10:09 when you feel that you can't go 100 percent,
10:11 there's no need for anyone to go 90 percent in our squad.
10:15 The players know that also that our bench is so strong.
10:19 It's filled with game changers and they are ready to come on.
10:21 And that's a really, what should you say, a wise decision for the team.
10:26 Also, when you feel that you can't go 100 percent,
10:29 let another player come on and do the work.
10:32 And I think that shows another aspect of Kim Little's leadership
10:37 with her always putting the team first.
10:39 All right. We'll leave it there, guys.
10:42 Thank you, guys.
10:42 Thanks.
10:43 Thank you.
10:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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