West Ham United Women v Arsenal
Barclays Women’s Super League, Chigwell Construction Stadium, Sunday 5 February 2023, 6:45pm KO
West Ham United welcome neighbours Arsenal to Dagenham for another mouthwatering clash in the Barclays Women's Super League.
Paul Konchesky's team are looking to bounce back in the league, but do come into the contest with the Gunners having won their previous two matches.
Victories over Liverpool and Wolves in the Continental Tyres League Cup quarter-final and Vitality Women's FA Cup fifth round respectively mean that mood in the camp is high heading into this one.
Arsenal meanwhile sit third in the table, but have only lost once in the league this season.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the contest...
Tickets...
A limited number of tickets are available for West Ham United Women's home Barclays Women's Super League fixture with Arsenal!
A very limited number of tickets also be available from the Ticket Office at Chigwell Construction Stadium on the day, priced from as little as £13 for Adults and £5 for Juniors!
How to follow…
Sunday's match in the Barclays Women's Super League has been selected for TV coverage.
The fixture will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, with kick-off for the clash against the Gunners at 6:45pm GMT.
You can also follow the action across our social media channels, while highlights and exclusive reactions will follow after the final whistle on whufc.com.
Travel...
Fans attending Sunday’s fixture at Chigwell Construction Stadium should note that parking is not available at the ground, so supporters are advised to make use of public transport.
If you are driving to the ground from the north, leave the M25 at Junction 27 and take the M11 towards London. At the end of the M11 continue onto the A406 towards Docklands (A13) and London City Airport. At the intersection with the A13, turn onto this road in the direction of the Dartford Crossing.
At the junction with the A1306, leave the A13 and join the A1306 towards Dagenham. At the third set of traffic lights turn left just before the McDonalds into Ballards Road. At the end of this road, you will come to a large roundabout.
Turn left and proceed up Rainham Road South, passing Dagenham East tube station on the left and Victoria Road is a quarter of a mile further on, on the same side of the road.
If driving to the ground from the south, leave the M25 at Junction 31 and take the A13 towards Central London. Exit the A13 onto the slip road, signposted Dagenham/Dagenham East. At the end of the slip road at the double roundabout turn right, then go under the A13. At the T-junction turn left onto the A1306. At the second set of lights turn right onto the B178.
At the end of this road you will come to a large roundabout. Turn left and proceed up Rainham Road South, passing Dagenham East tube station on the left and Victoria Road is a quarter of a mile further on, on the same side of the road.
If you are planning to travel to the match using the Elizabeth Line, please be mindful of engineering work that is taking place on Sunday.
Supporters are advised to check their journeys before travel, with resources such as TfL's Journey Planner or the TfL Go app helping to plan your journey.
Supporters may also wish to visit the National Rail website to plan their journey if travelling on the rail network.
Team News…
In Friday’s press conference ahead of the fixture, Konchesky confirmed that he had a near fully fit squad.
"We have pretty much a fully fit squad going into this game. That's really good for us, plus we've been able to add players throughout the January window, so we're ready to go.
“Long-term, we have Jess Ziu who is unavailable, and Amber Tysiak may not be ready, but we will have a full bench for the first time this season, which is exciting.”
The Opposition…
Arsenal, who missed out on the Barclays Women’s Super League title by a point last season, sit third as it stands in 2022/23, although the Gunners would pull level on points with the top two should they win their game in hand.
Around halfway through the season, it looks like a three-team race for the title then, with Manchester United and Chelsea the two sides ahead of Arsenal. The 15-time league winners seek their first title since 2018/19.
The Gunners, on 25 points, have won eight of their ten league matches this season; drawn once, against Chelsea, with Sam Kerr’s late equaliser snatching all three points from the Gunners; and fallen to one defeat, against Manchester United, after Alessia Russo’s late winner.
But Arsenal’s squad depth has shone, with the club playing domestically and in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. In the WSL, Stina Blackstenius, Frida Maanum, and Vivianne Miedema have all scored four goals - the latter’s goal per 90-minute ratio of 0.82 is only bettered by the division’s top scorer, Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw.
With eight different scorers in Arsenal’s 9-0 win over Leeds Ladies in the Women’s FA Cup fourth round last time out as well, the Gunners have continued to share the goals around in 2023.
Head coach since June 2021, Jonas Eidevall arrived in north London from Swedish side Rosengard, a club he helped into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League and achieve back-to-back league titles.
Born in Borås, Sweden, the 40-year-old originally learnt his managerial craft in the men’s game as head coach at Lunds BK. Eidevall first joined as an assistant, before he won the second-division title in 2009.
After a year at Arsenal, the Swede extended his contract with the Gunners – alongside men’s head coach Mikel Arteta – in May 2022; his contract extension now runs until the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
Tactically, the Arsenal coach favours possession-based football. “My philosophy is simple,” he told Arsenal’s club website, on his arrival in June 2021, “there's only one ball and it's our ball. We want to have it.”
His Arsenal team is also structured to win the ball back quickly and high up the field too. “Any team in the world will show at least one weakness if the pressure is intense enough,” he added, “we need to make sure that we bring every team to that point.”
