Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall has turned up the heat in the Women’s Super League title race, insisting that Chelsea are the team with “something to lose”.
“I think it’s exciting – I’ve been to all the different ends and situations and it’s not an easy situation for Chelsea,” Eidevall told BBC Sport.
“You live game by game and situation by situation. You can’t get ahead of yourself.”
Arsenal, who visit West Ham on Sunday, have a superior goal difference, so they will win the title if they beat Chelsea’s result at home to Manchester United.
Eidevall is challenging for his first WSL crown, a no small feat during his first evr season in England, but not his first experience of title runs, having won three league championships with Swedish side FC Rosenburg.
“I’ve been lucky, I usually do races for the title. It’s really important to be one of the teams that everyone looks up to and we’ve done that, so let’s believe that anything can happen for us,” he said.
Having started their campaign with a resounding 3-2 victory over Chelsea – a true statement of intent from the Gunners – it seemed inevitable that Arsenal would push Emma Hayes’ five-time champion to the limit and try to prevent him from winning his third title. consecutive. title.
The top two have lost just three WSL games between them all season, and Eidevall says his side have improved dramatically since losing to Chelsea in the 2010-21 FA Cup final, which was played in December.
He added: “We have another level in us, and the key now is if we can go up another level and see if we can maintain consistency as well. If you look at the points we have taken, we have shown development.”
‘Chelsea is in the driver’s seat’: expert analysis
Former Arsenal midfielder Fara Williams said the Gunners “put the pressure on Chelsea going into the last game of the season” after Arsenal’s victory in the north London derby on Wednesday.
“Chelsea are in the driver’s seat. I can’t imagine Chelsea not winning at home, but I won’t say who my money is on,” she added.
Former Gunners defender and fellow BBC pundit Anita Asante feels the race has now come down to “a test of character and faith” but that it will be hard to expect Chelsea to lose at Kingsmeadow on Sunday.
But that game is not without danger for Manchester United, who are fighting for third place against local rivals Manchester City, who beat Birmingham City on Wednesday to take a colon mattress on the final day.
And former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock is backing Arsenal to lift the trophy on Sunday, suggesting that Chelsea’s game has “much more at stake”.
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