Arsenal Women's boss Jonas Eidevall was ecstatic with his side’s second-half display but critiqued their first 45 minutes as the Gunners swept aside Leicester City 3-0 at the Emirates on Sunday.

A Beth Mead double paired with a brilliant strike from in-form Alessia Russo saw Eidevall’s team close the gap on WSL leaders Manchester City and Chelsea, and the Swede spoke of the players’ management of the game in glowing terms.

“Leicester come on to you. Of course, it’s a little bit result-dependent as well, but I think we managed the game well in both halves with the ball”, said Eidevall.

“I think the first goal we score is a prime example of how you need to move the ball, and the positions you need to take up to make it really difficult for Leicester in the way they play in defence.

"I did not really like the way we pressed in the first half. I think we corrected some details, and we pressed much better in the second half and we suffocated them more. We forced them to turn over the ball in the second half, we were very dominant.”

Eidevall also touched on a tactical tweak he made at half-time to gain more control over Leicester, suggesting the counter press wasn’t quite up to the standards his side had set themselves in previous weeks.

“Another thing we changed in the second half was our counter pressure. While I think we were good on the ball in the first half, we were way too passive in our counterpressure,” he added.

“We backed off. We didn’t go towards the ball, and we allowed them too much time and space on the ball.

"I think we were much more aggressive and much more proactive in the way that we counter pressed in the second half, and that creates much more opportunities for us.

"So, all in all a good performance. On the ball – good in both halves. Off the ball we were much better in the second half.”

The Swedish boss, who will lead the Gunners into the Champions League once again next season after securing qualification, isn’t resting on his laurels ahead of what looks to be a fascinating end to the WSL campaign.

“Relief? I don’t think it’s the right word. We want to push. We want to have as many points as possible in the league,” he said, when asked if qualification for Europe offers him relief.

“The way we see ourselves when we look in the mirror – we see a European club, and we see club that should be pushing in Europe. So, of course, that’s the requirement to qualify for Europe, but that doesn’t give me a lot of attention at the moment.

"That doesn’t give me less incentive now or going forward. We should be pushing in all league games and getting as many points as possible, and now we’ll see where that takes us in the league.”

The Gunners now have three games left to chase down their rivals at the top of the Women’s Super League, with Manchester City and Chelsea in imperious form as they battle it out for the title.