Jonas Eidevall hits out at ‘very weird experience’ as Arsenal beat Ajax to Champions League qualification

Jonathan Gorrie28 September 2022

Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall says he has “never experienced anything like” his side’s trip to Amsterdam on Wednesday evening.

Vivianne Miedema scored the only goal of the game as the Gunners secured Champions League qualification for a 14th consecutive season, sealing a 3-2 win on aggregate.

Goalposts at the Sportpark De Toekomst Johan Cruyff Arena had to be adjusted prior to kick-off as they were 10cm smaller than required.

Eidevall also revealed that he was misinformed on the rules of concussion substitutions by the fourth official, with Beth Mead having to be withdrawn late in the second-half after a clash of heads.

"It’s been a very weird experience being here," said Eidevall.

"Playing against a big club like Ajax where we had to measure the goals before the start of the game... I have never experienced anything like it to be honest.

"It’s very weird but we can only control the things we can control."

Of Mead’s head injury, the Arsenal boss said: “There is no doubt that Beth Mead needs to be taken off. The problem I have is that I asked the fourth official if we could do a concussion substitute and she says ‘yes’.

"We were preparing Lina Hurtig [to come on] then when we are going to do it she says ‘no’. We were getting her ready for two or three minutes.

"We would have spent that time speaking to the players about how we could defend with 10 players. That misinformation from the referee… I honestly don’t know why and how that could be. It’s such a simple question to answer yes or no."

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