Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall hopes that his team can take great confidence from their 5-1 North London Derby victory over Tottenham on Saturday afternoon as The Gunners look ahead to a pivotal week in the Women's Champions League.
Caitlin Foord scored twice as Kim Little, Stina Blackstenius and Kate McCabe joined her on the scoresheet to put midweek's narrow loss to bed and ensure Bethany England's first-half penalty was a mere consolation.
Three points at Brisbane Road lifted Arsenal back into second and in European qualification. However, whilst they remain in this season's competition, Eidevall insisted that the performance was far more vital than the result.
Arsenal face sterner opposition on Wednesday night when they welcome Bayern Munich to the Emirates looking to overturn the 1-0 deficit from the first leg of the quarter-final.
“Hopefully we go into the game on Wednesday with a good bit of self confidence and I think we should have that from our performances,” said Eidevall.
“Our performance against Chelsea in the Conti Cup (final) was very strong. Then both Liverpool and Reading was good in the league. Our second-half performance against Bayern was a very good performance and now here today was also a strong performance.
“It is not a team who have one or two strong performances. We have built good momentum coming into these two games against Bayern Munich and City. Now it is up to us to execute it.”
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Looking ahead
Not only do the Conti Cup winners face Bayern in their next fixture, but afterwards, they must prepare for a visit from European qualification contenders Manchester City.
When in conversation about the difficult run he has to endure, Eidevall kept composed. He argued that his team hasn't looked at the week as a whole but rather focussed on a game by game approach.
The next game is Bayern, and he wanted to reiterate that was at the centre of attention next, but that it was also important to not get carried away on Saturday afternoon amidst the buildup.
He added: “You can’t prioritise one or the other because we’re at the stage with this league where it is so competitive.
“You need to try to do your very, very best to win these games. An away game here is always going to be a challenge so you need to be on top of your game.
Arsenal fell to a 1-0 defeat after Lea Schuller's first-half header was the difference in midweek. But with Wednesday on the horizon, the aggregate score is still a swinging pendulum.
“But Bayern is in the same situation," he continued. "They are playing now against Wolfsburg and that is not a game they can take easy either.
“It is two teams with tough games and we will be ready to go on a little bit better grass pitch on Wednesday.”
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Vicky Jepson frustration
In the other half of the dugout, Spurs' caretaker manager Vicky Jepson was frustrated by her team's second-half display after she felt Bethany England's penalty meant that the home side could push on and earn a result.
The defeat comes just a game after Spurs looked to have been back on the ascendancy when they beat fellow strugglers Leicester City at Brisbane Road.
But a defeat to rivals Arsenal now means Jepson's team have lost all but one of their previous 11 matches.
“When they go 3-1 up, it was probably the nail in the coffin,“ Jepson admitted.
“Then they built momentum and we had to ride the storm. We didn’t ride the storm as well as we would like to and we find ourselves 5-1 down.
“It is just one of those things. The first half we showed character, we showed grit and we created opportunities to get us back in the game, but second half as a collective we are all disappointed.
“We feel sorry for the fans because the final whistle goes in a north London derby and it should never be that scoreline.”