Arsenal hosted an official club press conference this morning, as Gunners boss Jonas Eidevall previewed his side’s upcoming clash with Tottenham Hotspur this Sunday at Emirates Stadium.

First providing an injury update on what has been a nervous week for Arsenal fans after having watched their players battle it out on the international stage, Eidevall confirmed that Leah Williamson, Katie McCabe, and Victoria Pelova are all “very much in contention for Sunday”.

In far less positive news, Eidevall provided a fitness on Vivianne Miedema, as the Dutch striker returned back to North London prematurely after obtaining what was described as a low-risk knock during her time with the Netherlands this week. Eidevall confirmed that Miedema will be undergoing a “minor surgery” , explaining that “[it] is going to have her off-pitch for several weeks. We will have an update on that after the surgery and when we see how she is progressing.”

Eidevall also informed the press that Amanda Ilestedt is “back with us here now, back with the squad but the game here now on Sunday will come too early.”

Arsenal will now turn their attention to a highly anticipated fixture in the Barclays Women’s Super League, as Emirates Stadium gears up to host the North London derby this coming Sunday.

The Gunners fell to a disappointing defeat in their last meeting with Robert Vilahamn’s side, as an excellent break down of the Arsenal press saw the Spurs work play from end-to-end to seal the winning margin through a Martha Thomas finish.

The clash saw the Gunners maintain an assertive dominance, registering 31 shots to just 5 from Tottenham. Despite what the stat sheet may incur, Arsenal lacked all conviction as faced a derby day disappointment in a 1-0 defeat in N17.

Eidevall reflected on the loss, expressing where he believes the errors took place. He stated, “I think that goal very much shows the risk and reward in football. I don’t think we pressed aggressively enough in that moment and we allowed them to get out. It’s probably the only time that they really get out during the whole game. I think we forced them into a lot of turnovers in that game as well, we were not very good at converting from those turnover moments and these things will be important against a very organised team.

You will need to take the moments that they are disorganised with some real efficiency because it might not happen a lot of times during the game so you try to force it happening a few more times, but then making sure that you use them is always going to be hard.”

Sunday’s North London derby will be played at Emirates Stadium, as the Gunners look certain to push for consecutive Barclays Women’s Super League sell-outs. Eidevall confirmed that “There are 166 tickets left, so whoever can rush and be lucky to get those last tickets!” further expressing his delight in regards to the club’s achievement.

“It’s incredible. It’s great, it’s very much not a one-off. It’s less than twelve months since we sold out the stadium for the first time for the women’s team in the Champions League semifinal and everyone felt what a huge achievement that was.”

Eidevall expressed that he hopes to capitalise on the crowd success, making Arsenal’s intentions to forge Emirates Stadium into a fortress, crystal clear.

He said, “I think that’s something we can really use as a strength, as a home team and make that our fortress together with our fans and it should be a very unwelcoming place to come as an away team. We need to create that with the way that we are playing, our fans need to create that with their passion and their energy and if we both can do that, I am sure we will give ourselves the best chance of a great performance on Sunday.”

Arsenal will host Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday’s North London derby at Emirates Stadium, with proceedings heading underway at 12:30GMT. Very few tickets remain, and can still be purchased on Arsenal.com