Jonas Eidevall says Arsenal Women are ‘short in numbers’ after failure to land a forward in January transfer window | Football News

Jonas Eidevall says Arsenal are “undernumbered” and have “things to look at to improve” after failing to bring in another striker in the January transfer window.

With Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema both ruled out with ACL injuries, Eidevall last month expressed his desire for a “prolific goalscorer” to be signed.

On Monday, The Gunners had a world record bid of £500,000 for striker Alessia Russo rejected by Manchester United.

Sky Sports News understood Arsenal offered various forwards and cash offers for the 23-year-old during negotiations with United.

One of the players offered by Arsenal is Stina Blackstenius, who is expected to be the club’s starting striker for the rest of the season. However, United then informed the north London club that they decided not to sell Russo.

Reflecting on the January window, Eidevall said: “I think it was clear in the window that we needed another striker and we identified a target.

“I know the club is working hard, but this is a very difficult transfer window, not finding players who want to play for Arsenal, (and) there is a lot of quality, but finding clubs who want to sell quality players.

“It was very difficult and we did not succeed, and of course we are disappointed, but now we have to hope and make the best of the situation. a lot in.

“We are short in number, we know that, that can be a potential problem, but we have to work together and do it as well as possible to reach our goal.

“Without discussing in detail what our targets are, we are looking for players globally. This is a very difficult window to find clubs that want to release players because this is an immature transfer market, and if they release players, they have a very difficult time. instead.

“We knew it was going to be tough, but it was tougher than we thought.”

However, Arsenal – currently third in the WSL – have been busy. Midfielders Victoria Pelova and Kathrine Kuhl, plus goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo were signed, while teenage Brazilian winger Gio was recalled from his loan spell at Everton.

But Eidevall believes Arsenal are still short of players – perhaps indicating an area of ​​progress – and says he will focus on getting results with his team.

Eidevall told a press conference on Friday: “I think recruitment is the key if you are going to be a successful team.

“At the end of the summer, I think we got one player too little, and now we’re doing it again in January. So obviously there are things we have to look at to improve because over time, those things really have a big impact on the way we go. able to do and the ambitions to achieve. That is very important to us.

“You can have a result, or a reason, I don’t think you can have both, and I will try to get a result.”

Hayes happy with Chelsea squad: ‘I prefer business in June’

Elsewhere, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says she is happy with the squad she has, having not brought in any new players in January.

He said: “Our decision is not to add to the squad this window because strategically we prefer to do our business in June.

“January is a very difficult window in both men’s and women’s football. This has been proven in this case. We are happy with the current squad. I prefer to focus on the June window.”

Chelsea’s two star players – Pernille Harder and Magda Eriksson – both see their contracts expire this summer, but Hayes gave no indication when asked if they could extend their stay.

“Discussing players and current situations and links to clubs is not the place for this forum,” he said.

“It’s between me and the player, and the club and the player. Everyone knows he’s in the last six months of his contract, so yes, it’s a possibility.”

How the January window changed WSL transfers forever

The January transfer window was another big moment for the WSL.

There was a record bid for Alessia Russo and an English record move for Bethany England, plus Aston Villa and Tottenham proving their mettle in the transfer market.

There’s also a question to be asked – is this the last window before we see a million dollar female player? And which players will use the transfer to stake their claim to the World Cup?

here, Sky Sports senior football reporter Charlotte Marsh and Sky Sports News reporter Anton Toloui looks at the key points…