After back-to-back third-place finishes, Jonas Eidevall is changing it up. This summer has seen Arsenal Women take a different path as they begin their first pre-season tour of the United States.
More than 3,600 miles away from home in Washington D.C., head coach Eidevall has called it “the most proper pre-season” he has overseen since taking charge in 2021.
Eidevall’s first summer with Arsenal was fragmented by Covid-19 restrictions, which stalled any direct contact with his new team. The two summers that followed were dominated by the 2022 European Championship and last summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Even this summer has taken in the Paris Olympics, but the Arsenal players who did compete will join the rest of the squad on the tour.
“Out of the Olympic players, we have had a trio from Australia (Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley and Kyra Cooney-Cross) that joined us yesterday on the travel day,” Eidevall said. “Then we have three players (Laia Codina, Mariona Caldentey and Emily Fox) who will join us on Monday, the day after we play Washington Spirit.
“We have had a lot of players who were off in the summer and now are starting to train with the team. They have a lot of freshness but don’t start with a lot of fitness, so they need to…
