Eidevall eager to take Arsenal back to the top of women's football

Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall says he wants the club to go back to being the "most successful team in women's football in England" after reaching another Conti Cup final.

The reigning champions beat Aston Villa 4-0 at Meadow Park with Sweden forward Stina Blackstenius netting a first-half hat-trick.

Frida Maanum also got herself on the scoresheet before the interval to help set up a date with either Manchester City or Chelsea — who face off on Thursday evening — in the final.

Arsenal will be targeting a seventh Conti Cup crown after reaching their 10th showpiece and Eidevall is hopeful his side can build on the positivity to re-enter a new period of dominance.

The North Londoners have not won the Women's Super League since 2019 and last lifted the Women's FA Cup in 2016.

Gunners boss Eidevall, 41, said: "Arsenal I think is the most successful team in women's football in England, period. A big goal is going back to that.

"That is the biggest thing when I came, to acknowledge that we had the most successful team historically but we had fallen a little bit behind and we needed to invest and push and get back to winning trophies and league titles.

"Of course going into finals is steps in the right direction.

"It doesn't mean we are fully developed yet but you can see with the attendances we draw, we compete and go to finals, we are competing in the league.

"These are positive signs and we can be encouraged and keep building on them, not just this year but for the future."

Eidevall also touched on another impressive atmosphere at Meadow Park, adding: "Always, it gives me goosebumps speaking about it.

"We speak about being consistent as a team and keeping standards high and that is our fans, right?

"They turn up day in day out, away and at home. We are so happy for our fans to play in a final.

"We hope we can create something special together again and travel in numbers and make Molineux our home for the day."