After bagging their first Women’s Super League win against Crystal Palace, Aston Villa are set to take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Robert de Pauw addressed the media ahead of the fixture, reflecting on how his side left things before the international break and what he’s looking to do on Sunday.
Having beaten Crystal Palace before the break, De Pauw said the win came as a ‘big relief to everybody’ and ‘good to finally have’. Especially as his team ‘were waiting for the win for a long time’ and look to push through the closeness at the bottom of the WSL table.
“I think we always want to give back to the fans and also the people around and in the club, and I think we did that,” De Pauw said in his pre-match press conference. After Ebony Salmon lifted spirits with her stoppage time winner last time out, De Pauw suggested how the win over Palace potentially reflected their season so far.
“The way it was, maybe it says something about this season. Conceding in the 87th minute and then scoring in extra time.
“I think it was an eruption of joy and relief at the same time. Myself, I was quite p***ed off because we conceded in the 87th minute, and we were, at that moment, totally dominating and not conceding any chances in the second half. But in the end, we were very happy that Ebony did what she did and when she came in. And I think everybody felt really good after the game.”
Pressure down at the bottom
With only two points separating Tottenham Hotspur in seventh and Crystal Palace in 12th in the league table, Villa’s manager believes that the pressure to gain points is equal across all teams.
“In this league, there’s always pressure, but it’s equal to the other teams because we’re all so close to each other. And you see, everybody can take points from everybody, maybe except for Chelsea at this moment. But still, we came close when I look at the first game. So yeah, the pressure is shared… We just focus on the things we have to do and try to make sure we get the results in.”
Looking ahead to what is set to be a tough match against Arsenal, De Pau w believes his team have ‘nothing to lose’.
“We, for certain, have confidence in ourselves,” he continued. “We showed that we can do stuff. So let’s try to make the next step in the next game and give our role and give Arsenal a big challenge.”
As Arsenal work to break back into the top three under interim head coach Renée Slegers, Aston Villa will look to frustrate where they can to keep Arsenal ‘silent on Sunday’.
