Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall explains why Vivianne Miedema started for Netherlands in Women's Nations League despite key Gunners forward 'needing surgery'

Miedema returned from a long spell on the sidelines with a ruptured ACL in October and her minutes have been managed since, with knee irritation also keeping her out of some recent games. She was back for Arsenal's win over Manchester United before the international break and then started for the Netherlands in their Nations League semi-final against Spain, but Gunners boss Jonas Eidevall has now revealed that the forward needs surgery after returning from the Dutch camp early.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Eidevall said: "She requires a minor knee surgery and that is going to have her off the pitch for several weeks. We will have an update on that after the surgery and when we see how she is progressing."

Asked about the communication with the Netherlands team and about Miedema's start against Spain in midweek, he added: "We have good communication with all the national teams that we work with but we also have to have a lot of respect for the autonomy in the decision making. The Netherlands were playing some really, really important games for them, both for a Nations League trophy and maybe more importantly for Olympic qualification. They also need to take the decisions that are best for them.

"What is important in all these conversations is that I always think that we put the player at the forefront and we're trying to find solutions that are the best for the player, and we need to cooperate. She doesn't need a surgery because of those 45 minutes she played against Spain. She would have needed the surgery anyway. It was nothing that the Dutch team did that complicated this here or made the situation worse. It was a situation that needed to be fixed anyway."

Miedema's absence is a big blow for an Arsenal team that recently reasserted themselves in the Women's Super League title race, with the Gunners now only three points behind Chelsea and Manchester City. With three players currently at the CONCACAF W Gold Cup, Eidevall doesn't have an abundance of options available to him right now.

Miedema is the all-time top goal-scorer in WSL history, having netted 79 times in 101 appearances for Arsenal since signing from Bayern Munich in 2017.

While Miedema prepares to have the surgery, Arsenal face Tottenham on Sunday, looking to get revenge for a first-ever loss to their north London rivals back in December. With a Continental Cup semi-final against Aston Villa to follow in midweek before a clash with WSL leaders Chelsea later this month, there are some big games coming up for the Gunners - but they will not be able to call on Miedema for them.