Hayes: Chelsea manager responds to Arsenal boss's dig over WSL fixture

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says she respects Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall but in response to his dig over WSL fixture postponements insisted: "I don't care."

After a 1-0 win over Birmingham on Sunday, league leaders Chelsea stayed four points in front of Arsenal ahead of Wednesday's north London derby with Tottenham at the Emirates, a game the Gunners have to win in order to take the title down to the final day of the season.

Eidevall, whose side hammered Aston Villa 7-0 earlier in the day, recently suggested Chelsea re-arranged fixtures in January to avoid playing without star striker Sam Kerr while she was away at the Asia Cup.

He said last week: "I think for me I didn't focus on Chelsea when they were rearranging all their fixtures in January, so Sam Kerr didn't have to miss any games because of the Asia Cup.

"I don't focus on them now, either. I just focus on Arsenal, getting as many points as possible, and then we see where that leaves us in the table."

Responding to those comments, Hayes later told Sky Sports: "I don't care. I'm too busy getting the team ready for the week.

"I think it's great there's a competitive rivalry between two teams. I hugely respect him and his team and the work they've done this year to push us all the way.

"I think Arsenal have had a tremendous season and quite rightly they're going into the last game still contending to be champions and that's what we've wanted to see for the league.

"As for the small talk, that's for you guys to comment on, not me."

Chelsea asked to have a match against Tottenham postponed in January due to a high number of Covid cases and injuries in their squad.

Their match against Everton was also pushed back, but that was at the request of the opposition, also due to a high number of Covid cases and injuries.

Arsenal were without Lydia Williams, Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley and Mana Iwabuchi due to the Asia Cup in January, and subsequently lost to Birmingham during that period while other games were postponed.