Arsenal “deserved their point “ in the 1-1 draw against Manchester City on Sunday, said Jonas Eidevall, after Tobin Heath equalised in the 92nd minute.
Manchester City’s goal was controversial, as the ball hit the referee in the build.
Arsenal manager Eidevall said: “It was one of the best passes of the game. At the end of the day we all make mistakes – I make them, referees make them, players make mistakes.
"Afterwards I totally understand that, it’s a part of football. But I think the referees also need to understand why we get very upset in the moment. The referees should be professional and should be given all the resources that they need to prepare and practice and work on fitness, and that’s where we need to focus.
"Let’s raise the standard around refereeing and give them the help they need."
He said he tried being a referee when he was younger and that he remembers coaches not speaking to him After the game.
"And that is not a nice feeling and that’s not the sort of role model I want to be," he said. "Everyone will make mistakes and the only thing I am always going to be an advocate for is the fix around it and giving them the best possible conditions.”
The manager was full of praise for Heath after her impact from the bench.
“It was great to have Tobin back," he said. "it was a bit difficult building into the United and City games, we have a lot of players available to play but have not had a lot of time to train together, and we have some players who can’t quite do 90 minutes. To bridge that gap has been difficult but we have done that well enough.”
Leah Williamson came off at half-time with what looked like a hamstring problem and was replaced by Brazilian Rafaelle Souza.
But Eidevall said: “Leah isn’t injured. We knew before that she couldn’t play for 90 minutes. We have to check with every player and she started to get tired so we decided to sub her.
"I was very, very impressed by Rafaelle’s debut. That was such a tough time to come on and the way she moved the ball and the way she worked in defence."
He said an aim this season was to improve in games against the big teams like Chelsea and City.
"That was clearly one of the areas where Arsenal struggled in previous seasons," he said. "We have played Chelsea and City at home and won, and now we have drawn away at City. What Arsenal had problems with last season was that they didn’t have the structure to play out against high pressing teams so they didn’t see enough of the ball in those games.
Arsenal are back in WSL action on Thursday against Brighton & Hove Albion at Meadow Park with kick off at 7.30pm.
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