Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall baffled by ‘strange’ goalpost farce in 1-0 win over Ajax

The Arsenal-Ajax clash in the Champions League turned into a farce on Wednesday night after the English club realized the goals were four inches too small.

The Gunners, who went on to win the group stage 1-0, noticed in warm-up that the posts weren’t the right height.

Last-minute adjustments were made before kick-off and more changes were made at half-time, leaving Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall confused.

Arsenal missed the goal posts at Sportpark De Toekomst by 10 centimeters on Wednesday

Jonas Eidevall’s side asked for adjustments before kick-off and again at half-time

“It was a very strange experience coming here, a big club like Ajax, but we had to measure the goals before the game and it turned out that the goals were 10 centimeters too small,” Eidevall said.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this, to be honest.”

Eidevall’s side also had to end the game with 10 players after Beth Mead was substituted with a concussion. Arsenal had tried to sign Lina Hurtig but were told they had used all their substitution windows.

The Swedish coaching staff managed a 3-2 aggregate win over Dutch giants Ajax

The trial of concussion substitutes, initiated by the International Football Association’s board, ended in July.

“I think Uefa have removed the concussion sub, they still have the concussion protocol, which means the doctor makes the decision. There is no doubt that Beth needs to be deposed,” Eidevall said.

“The problem I have, and if that gets lost in translation, is that I asked the fourth officer if we can do a concussion and she said yes, and so we prepare Lina, and then when we will do it she says no.’

Vivianne Miedema scored from the penalty area to give the guests an important 1-0 win

“We had that break for two to three minutes and could have spent a lot of time talking to the players about how we would have defended with 10 players.

“I think that is misinformation from the referee. I honestly don’t know how and why that can be, because for me it’s just such a simple question that can be answered with yes or no.

“In Sweden – where I come from – ice hockey is very big. If you attack to the head, they realize how dangerous that is, they are so hard on punishing violence to the head.

Eidevall’s side join Chelsea as the only other WSL to reach the Champions League group stage

Because this isn’t just pain, it can affect the rest of your life, so the choices must be very good ones not to move on.

“If that’s not a red card for a header like that – I know she doesn’t mean it – but it’s negligent. And in the end, it’s negligence that really puts Beth in jeopardy. I just hope she’s okay.

“I’m not surprised that we come out of this double-header with two injuries.”

Vivianne Miedema scored the only goal of the game, shooting in from the edge of the box six minutes after half-time.

Beth Mead had to be substituted shortly after coming on with a head injury