Last week Arsenal announced that their women’s side would venture on a tour to Australia to take on the A-League All Stars XI in a friendly match on May 24th, which was met with a mixed reception from both fans and onlookers alike.
Given the fixture falls just a mere six days following their last WSL game of the season (against Brighton on May 18th), as well as just a few days before an international window, there have been calls of concern on a both player welfare basis, as well as the impact the trip will have on the climate.
Arsenal Women in Australia 🇦🇺
We will be playing a post-season fixture against the A League Allstars in May ✨
See you soon, Melbourne 👋— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) March 18, 2024
For example, Ireland captain Katie McCabe could in theory play The Gunners’ final game of the season on May 18th in Meadow Park in England, travel Down Under for the A-League All Stars XI on May 24th at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, and then play in The Girls in Green’s third Euro 2025 qualifier, a Nations League match versus Sweden, in the Aviva Stadium on May 31st.
Despite all of that however, Arsenal’s head coach Jonas Eidevall has defended the decision, citing that it was a “commercially viable” opportunity and a chance to grow both “women’s football in general and Arsenal as a specific club.”
"That shows the club’s investment and the popularity that the team has, not only in the UK but across the globe,” he said, speaking with reporters on Friday last.
“When you see Australia as a football continent, I was there and lucky enough to experience the World Cup last summer, you can see the enthusiasm and interest women’s football has there and it is great that it can continue to build. This is another opportunity to do that,” he added.
"For some players it will be the right thing to go, for some players it will not be the right thing to go" Jonas Eidevall on Arsenal's end-of-season friendly match in Australia adding it will be a good opportunity to give minutes to some of his first-year professionals. pic.twitter.com/YEXwd55EHp
— Asif Burhan (@AsifBurhan) March 22, 2024
With that said though, Eidevall did perhaps allude to the fact that the entirety of his squad might not be in attendance.
"That means for some players it will be the right thing to go and for some players it will not be the right thing to go, if we talk about it from a loading perspective and a football perspective,” he said.
“We need to take good decisions on that.”
Hopeful they can find the “balance to do that”, he also touched on how it doesn’t necessarily impede on any post season holidays, given the looming international break after the proposed fixture.
“The reason we are having activity in this period of the year is because of the calendar," he added.
"We play our last competitive game on May 18th and the normal thing would be to go on holiday because our season is done.
"But there is an international period of fixtures which starts on 27 May, where they play competitive games. So it was a clear wish from players and associations to not go on holiday in that period to help players prepare for those international fixtures.
“That was the first decision for us to make was to not go on holiday during that period. After that, different opportunities come up. But it was never the case that players would be off because of where the international fixtures are. If there wasn’t international fixtures here, the decision might have been very different, in terms of where we plan our training and matches."
For now though, Eidevall and Arsenal will look forward to closing out their WSL campaign on a high, as well as taking aim at silverware versus Chelsea in the Conti Cup final on Sunday March 31st.
🗣️ "A lot of us have had a few sleepless nights thinking about it"
Beth Mead says Arsenal have to learn from the WSL defeat Chelsea and do better it in the Conti Cup final 💪 pic.twitter.com/flmVICbGpi— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) March 25, 2024
