Bruised Arsenal bid to stop Chelsea making it an awesome WSL foursome

T he rivalry between Emma Hayes and Jonas Eidevall has ebbed and flowed. Their first meeting after the Swede’s arrival in north London saw an unimpressed Hayes looking on as Eidevall wildly celebrated Arsenal’s 3-2 opening day defeat of Chelsea at the Emirates.

The image of Eidevall sinking to his knees, fists clenched, mouth wide, has somewhat haunted him since. Eidevall’s admission of his black cat superstition before the FA Cup final led to Hayes’s cheeky reply that her side has “purred” during their 3-0 FA Cup final triumph in December 2021.

“Sometimes when I am driving I reroute a couple of miles if I see one,” Eidevall had said. “I feel a bit silly when I am doing it but it’s something I can control. If Emma [Hayes] sees this she will probably buy a thousand black cats with the money Chelsea have and send them all over our training pitch.”

As the end of Eidevall’s second season in charge draws closer it is apparent that a mutual respect has developed between the managers.Before Sunday’s lunchtime meeting that could move Chelsea closer to a fourth consecutive league title and third back-to-back double or Arsenal nearer to Champions League football, there was even some sympathy from Hayes for her counterpart.

Eidevall’s side have been battered past the point of breaking this season as player after player has fallen to injury. Yet somehow the remaining players have gelled, the pieces not always in the right places, but effective enough for there to be minimal leaks. Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Laura Wienroither suffered ACL ruptures, while Kim Little, Lia Wälti, Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord have sat out significant chunks of the season.

Chelsea have had their own woes, with Fran Kirby and