Spurs vs Arsenal (WSL) | Robert’s preview: “We’re going to go for it!”
Fri 15 December 2023, 20:56|
Tottenham Hotspur
Robert Vilahamn insists we won’t change our attacking philosophy when Arsenal come to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for Saturday lunchtime’s Women’s Super League showdown (12pm UK).
This weekend represents the fourth time we’ll have taken on the Gunners in the women’s game at our world-famous home stadium and while it’s always a tough challenge to face them, or any of the well-established top sides in the division, Robert isn’t afraid to continue to implement his attacking brand of football as we seek to earn victory.
“It’s always tricky when you want to be a team that dictates the game and you want to have the ball when you play against one of the top teams in the world, but when we come to our stadium, we want to make sure we try to do it,” said the Head Coach ahead of his first north London derby following his appointment over the summer.
“We’re not going to try to just have a low block and hope that we can counter-attack, we’re going to go for it and see if we can actually do it. I’m aware that they are very good so if we feel like we have struggles, then we have situations in the game where we can make sure we take care of that, but the main thing for me is to show the fans who come to the stadium that this team is all about playing the way we want to do it and not trying to focus on the opponents. I want to show our fans the way we want to play, where we are right now and how we’re going to improve this team and hopefully we can actually win with this way.”
When you come to this big stadium and see how it’s built, everything about it is so unique.
Robert’s first game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was in August as he presided over a behind-closed-doors pre-season friendly against Aston Villa, but it’s set to be a whole new experience for him when we face our rivals in front of our fans on Saturday.
“When you come to this big stadium and see how it’s built, everything about it is so unique,” said Robert, who has also attended men’s games in N17 this season to sample the environment. “For me, to be coaching my team in that stadium against a top team, it’s going to be a great experience and also the start of something because I want to be there even more in the future with this team, making sure we fill the stadium and playing the football we want to.”
Both Robert and Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall hail from Sweden and are of a similar age, and the pair have crossed paths before – both intentionally and by chance!
“I actually saw – I didn’t know it then – but we coached a division one team, a men’s side, against each other when we were 26 or 27, so we coached against each other when we were younger,” smiled Robert. “In the last years I’ve been following him, when I took over at BK Häcken I was invited by him, I was over visiting for a few days because I wanted to know the English league and what the level is like as I had an aim to come here as well. He invited me which was really nice, after that we had some contact but not too much, but he’s doing really well in this country and he’s shown me that you can come from Sweden, take over this market and play some really good football, so I’m trying to do that with Tottenham now.”
Buy tickets for Saturday's match here.
