How Arsenal's first U.S. tour can assist them finish WSL title drought

WASHINGTON — After two seasons that fell wanting expectations, 2024-25 appears like a pivotal one for Arsenal. It is also shaping as much as be a make-or-break marketing campaign for supervisor Jonas Eidevall. But the 29 gamers who travelled for the membership’s first main pre-season tour of the U.S. — a 10-day journey that noticed video games towards the NWSL‘s Washington Spirit and Women’s Super League (WSL) rivals Chelsea — seemed relaxed, engaged and exuberant..

Even when battling the warmth throughout coaching at George Mason College, the squad appeared to have a renewed sense of goal and optimism. The tour, coupled with a brief break free from soccer over the summer time, was precisely what Arsenal wanted to recharge their batteries forward of a brand new WSL season that begins on Sept. 22 with excessive expectations and stress.

It has been 5 years since Arsenal final received the WSL. Within the final two campaigns, they had been out of competition lengthy earlier than the ultimate stretch and regardless of profitable two League Cups in as a few years, failure to win main silverware this season might put Eidevall — who has two years left on his contract — in jeopardy.

In a bid to press the reset button and collect some momentum, the membership launched into a U.S. tour over the summer time that took eight months to plan. ESPN was granted unique entry, going behind the scenes to see how the Gunners plan to show issues round.

Threat and reward

Regardless of the controversy around Arsenal’s 20,000 mile round-trip to Australia — they performed an A-League All-Stars Ladies’s group in an exhibition match on Could 24, simply six days after the top of the WSL season, which prompted a backlash over participant welfare and local weather issues — the concept was easy: join with the membership’s followers on the opposite aspect of the world.

“I feel generally these journeys get a nasty title if you’re saying it is business, as a result of for me these are connection journeys,” Eidevall says. “That is our method to convey our sport to folks that care very deeply about what we do and we actually just like the expertise to satisfy them stay and to expertise their help. It is actually about that connection half and it is particular.”

The membership’s open coaching session in Australia drew 5,000 followers. And whereas the business side stays a big and vital driving drive, the U.S. tour was modelled after the profitable methods utilized by the lads’s groups and is geared toward rising the ladies’s sport all over the world.

“[It] goals to maneuver [the club] in direction of hopefully a greater financially sustainable mannequin,” Arsenal’s director of soccer Clare Wheatley tells ESPN. “I feel now there’s cash to be made [in the women’s game]. It’s a business enterprise and a accountability that we have now to truly develop the sport as nicely.”

With loads of U.S.-based Arsenal followers, a stateside journey made sense; nevertheless, the selection to face Washington Spirit and Chelsea was removed from arbitrary. Certainly, the choice to face formidable opponents in difficult circumstances was made to push the group to its limits. For Eidevall, embracing danger is crucial to reaping massive rewards.

“We do not need good, we need to be examined, and to see if can we go that additional mile subsequent season,” Eidevall stated. “That is why it is so essential to begin with Washington. It is a deeply uncomfortable expertise coming right here and [due to a summer break] not being able to play a sport like that. We aren’t prepared, and we’ll play in entrance of an nearly sold-out stadium towards the group in [the middle of their] season. That is danger and reward.

“We’re not after a pleasant season; we’re not after simply having a pleasant time. We’re after profitable. We have to take some uncomfortable steps so as to put in that vital stress on ourselves.”

The Spirit are definitely no pushovers. With former Barcelona supervisor Jonatan Giráldez on the helm, an NWSL championship in 2021 and a number of USWNT gamers together with Trinity Rodman, Casey Krueger, Croix Bethune and Andi Sullivan, Eidevall is conscious of the take a look at they’ll supply.

“To go in direction of stress and to go in direction of uncomfortable conditions is what offers you that additional edge,” he provides. “That is what a profitable group does, and by placing stress on ourselves, that is going to be uncomfortable, however so it should be what we’d like so as to flip right into a profitable group.”

In assessing the place Arsenal have struggled in recent times, inconsistency and a sluggish begin to the season had been two principal themes that regularly cropped up in conversations with gamers and employees. Final yr, their early Champions League exit — their preparations weren’t helped by the World Cup ending in mid-August, which gave them much less time to arrange — and failure to safe a WSL win till matchday three in mid-October, led to them ending third within the WSL, 5 factors behind Manchester City and champions Chelsea. This yr, with a extra rigorous and well-planned preseason, the membership are aiming to begin quick.

“We consider that we have actually grown during the last 12 months, and that development ought to actually present itself in trophies,” Wheatley instructed ESPN on the Watergate Resort within the Watergate complicated, well-known for being the positioning of the beginning of the scandal in 1972 that introduced down President Richard Nixon. “We do have a trusted historic report, but it surely’s not about what we have executed; it is about what we’ll do. Not profitable the league for thus a few years could be very un-Arsenal-like.”

Whereas the Gunners face a troublesome take a look at towards Metropolis of their first WSL match on Sept. 22, the choice to match up towards WSL winners Chelsea in preseason was additionally calculated. The Blues have a brand new supervisor — former Lyon boss Sonia Bompastor took over from the legendary Emma Hayes, who landed the USWNT job this summer time — and whereas it might have been simpler to play their London opponent behind closed doorways, Eidevall believes the added stress that comes with a visit to the U.S. might be good for his gamers.

“It isn’t so essential from a outcomes perspective,” he says. “But it surely’s actually essential from a efficiency perspective for us to have this as a chance to essentially take a look at how good we’re on the issues that we need to be good at.”

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The storming section

Through the course of the tour, Eidevall spent over an hour throughout two stints completely with ESPN. The supervisor recounted his complicated relationship with stress, rooted in his early days at Malmö, a membership steeped in a relentless profitable tradition. After stepping away from the high-stakes setting of a head coach, he selected a unique path, transferring to Denmark’s second league to function an assistant. It was in these 4 early life that he honed his potential to thrive beneath stress, turning adversity right into a catalyst for development.

Armed with this newfound resilience, he described mixing stress and motivation right into a “actually potent cocktail” that fuelled his return to the top coach place at Rosengard (previously Malmö) and finally paved his method to Arsenal. And now, one of many methods the Swede needs his group to develop is to come across battle — to not fire up pointless chaos however to confront and resolve differing viewpoints, roles, and communication kinds head-on.

Certainly, he believes in navigating these challenges by a structured four-phase strategy that performs out by preseason and offers the group the very best likelihood for achievement earlier than their UEFA Champions League qualifier vs. Rangers on Sept. 4. The preliminary stage, the place everyone seems to be enthusiastic and keen; the second section, aptly named the “storming section,” the place conflicts come up and are confronted; adopted by “norming,” the place concord begins to kind; and eventually, “performing,” the place the group operates at peak effectivity.

Eidevall was decided to push the group by the “storming section” throughout preseason, guaranteeing they ironed out any issues earlier than the marketing campaign began to stop any mid-season points that might jeopardise their ambitions.

“We want the ‘storming section’ to be right here, so truly I feel this is without doubt one of the finest issues with this journey. I feel we have been so tied collectively, so I feel we have now been ‘storming’ a little bit bit right here,” he says. “We’ve had wholesome conflicts, participant to participant, employees to employees and, working actually constructively in a method to get actual function readability, readability on incorrect processes, ensuring we will break down this actually massive formidable objective into extra scalable objectives that can lead us that approach. And it may be instantly linked to the behaviours that we have to do.”

Eidevall admits that the best situation is for Arsenal to be within the “performing stage” when the group face Rangers on Wednesday — at worst, he needs them within the “norming section” — so work over the tour has targeted on resolving the conflicts that are a pure prevalence if you convey collectively formidable folks.

“All that keenness and vitality will must be directed,” he provides. “And the one approach to try this is to resolve these conditions that seem. I feel we’re doing that in a extremely wholesome approach.”

Younger Weapons given an opportunity to step up

The membership introduced six academy prospects to America. Katie Reid (17), Freya Godfrey (18), and Vivienne Lia (17) began within the 2-1 win towards Washington Spirit, permitting key internationals to relaxation, whereas Michelle Agyemang (18), Maddison Earl (17), and Laila Harbert (17) made an affect off the bench.

“It simply reveals us that our future is vivid and there’s competitors for the seasoned internationals which were in our squad for a few years,” Wheatley says.

With so many first-team gamers having their minutes fastidiously managed as a result of a gruelling season, Eidevall additionally highlighted the necessity for younger gamers to step up, saying: “I’m an enormous believer in that you just have no idea a possible of an individual or a participant until you give them alternatives and that could be deeply uncomfortable at occasions to do.”

One new arrival, 21-year-old Rosa Kafaji, shortly captured the hearts of followers in Washington. A extremely rated ahead who drew switch curiosity from Chelsea and Barcelona after impressing within the Champions League group stage with BK Häcken, Kafaji made her presence felt for her new membership by helping Alessia Russo’s second objective towards the Spirit, regardless of having solely been with the group for per week.

Already a Sweden worldwide, her professionalism is past her years, and her infectious character has shortly made her relaxed in her new setting. “It has been a pleasant journey; I’d say this camp right here was good for me,” Kafaji tells ESPN. “You go away with a group, you get to bond with them in one other approach. On the coaching spherical, you go do your coaching, go residence. So this has been a good time, so I am simply having fun with it.”

In addition to giving youth an opportunity to shine, one key focus of the tour was to assist combine the brand new signings into the group.

Alongside Kafaji, Arsenal secured World Cup profitable ahead Mariona Caldentey from Barcelona and goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar from Aston Villa over the summer time. Though Caldentey missed the primary sport and Van Domselaar was dominated out by damage, the trio spent useful time in D.C. constructing relationships with their new teammates and employees, each on and off the sector. Journeys to discover the town and downtime collectively as a group had been essential.

Leaving a legacy

For defender Lotte Wubben-Moy, who performed faculty soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels, the journey to the United States was about extra than simply soccer. It was a chance to create an enduring affect and elevate the area people, to encourage the subsequent era, and go away a significant footprint.

“Undoubtedly wanting on the affect that soccer and Arsenal can have as a complete,” she tells ESPN. “We need to act the category wherever we go, and this journey will be an instance of that and go away a legacy in a small approach. Moderately than simply considering of it as a legacy extra so trying to the long run and truly what it might usher in time to return, which I feel is without doubt one of the most essential issues for us as feminine footballers.”

One of many highlights for Wubben-Moy was the group occasion that showcased Arsenal’s dedication to creating a distinction past the pitch. The occasion featured an open coaching session for over 500 followers, adopted by a particular teaching session for Bancroft Elementary youngsters, led by supervisor Eidevall and Arsenal’s teaching employees. Wubben-Moy, Emily Fox, and Russo then took half in a poetry workshop with the youngsters.

USWNT defender Fox, who grew up in close by Virginia, praised Wubben-Moy’s group work in England, the place the 25-year-old combines soccer and humanities with native children by Arsenal within the Neighborhood.

“We had been in a position to meet about 20 younger children, they name them poet athletes, and the session was led by an alumni from D.C. scores, which was extraordinarily particular,” she tells ESPN. “She [Wubben-Moy] learn a poem and spoke with such eloquence and even that transferred onto the youngsters who obtained up and skim their poems.”

The hunt for consistency

Whereas Arsenal will not be placing a lot inventory within the outcomes of the tour, a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea of their ultimate sport at Audi Area (after a objective from Sandy Baltimore) reveals there’s nonetheless work to be executed. And the membership’s vice-captain Leah Williamson believes the absence of latest silverware can function a robust motivator.

“I do not even suppose there’s actually stress; it is extra of a factual factor that we have now underachieved within the final couple of years,” she tells ESPN. “We did not get Champions League final yr. So for us it is like how are we going to try this? Moderately than specializing in the stress and the emotion round it, it is simply what do we have to do to recover from this line?”

For Wheatley, the reply to success comes from considered one of Arsenal’s largest criticisms final season. “We want consistency; we’d like performances,” she says. “Consistency is the massive factor. We have crushed the massive groups earlier than, we have let ourselves down with the smaller groups. We lay out our technique, and really a lot a part of that this yr is to win. It was nice to win the Conti Cup final two seasons, however that is not ok for us.”

With the brand new season just some weeks away, Wubben-Moy mirrored on how ready she feels forward of the approaching begin to the season.

“I feel we discovered from final yr by way of hitting the bottom operating and desirous to take advantage of the times that we have now,” she says. “My tackle it begin steep after which ease into the season. Due to the World Cup it was tremendous congested, and we had been thrown straight into Champions League soccer. Now we’re prepared to enter these Champions League video games, in contrast to final yr.”

The message from Arsenal is unmistakable: the membership are laser-focused on profitable a serious trophy within the 2024-25 and have meticulously crafted their preseason to optimise their readiness.

All of it begins with a vital Champions League qualifiers towards Rangers, the place they’re decided to keep away from a repeat of final season’s early exit, earlier than they face Metropolis in that high-stakes WSL opener which is able to see them come up towards former teammate Vivianne Miedema.

However the true measure of the success of their preseason will come subsequent Could when Arsenal hope to see their trophy cupboard full as soon as once more. This season is about extra than simply competing; it is about making a press release of intent and reclaiming their place on the high of ladies’s soccer.