‘The standard is high’ – Ruiz on Arsenal defeat | OneFootball

Arturo Ruiz believes Brighton & Hove Albion have set a strong early standard to build from despite beginning their Women’s Super League campaign with a 0-1 defeat to Arsenal.

Lisa Baum’s stunning early strike ultimately separated the sides at Broadfield Stadium, but Brighton remained competitive throughout Ruiz’s first match in charge and pushed one of the WSL’s expected title challengers until the final whistle.

Having only been at the club for nine days, Arturo Ruiz was disappointed to leave his first WSL game without a point but took considerable encouragement from what he saw.

“First of all, thank you all for being here. A pleasure. Thank you for your work. I’m still getting used to these leagues. It was my first day,” Ruiz said. “Thanks to the fans and thanks to the players, because I think that they performed really well, and I think that the first impression of our team was really competitive and really good, and that’s the most important and positive thing.

“Obviously, I think that we tried, and we made enough to get a point, to get a goal in the second half or even in the first one, and get a point.

“But okay, we need to accept it and go through and focus on building up.”

“We were very competitive”

There was plenty about Brighton’s performance that pleased Ruiz.

The Seagulls demonstrated their ability both in and out of possession, threatened in transition and remained disciplined against an Arsenal side possessing significant attacking quality.

However, Ruiz was particularly encouraged by the psychological side of Brighton’s performance and the conviction his players showed in carrying out their game plan. “So many things,” he said when asked what he liked about his team. “With the ball, without the ball, transition, set pieces, we were really good. So talking about the game, really good, but the psychological part was really important, because we were very competitive. We were very convinced about what we coached and what we did today, and that’s the most important thing. Now, the players are sad or disappointed. They are disappointed because we didn’t get points, and I am as well. But we made enough to get a point, and we just go through it, and let’s go to the next one, because the performance was really good.”

Despite the limited preparation time available to Brighton’s new manager, Ruiz felt his side successfully implemented what had been worked on during his first days at the club.

“We had absolutely enough time to analyse our rival and make a plan,” he explained. “All the things that the team did is what we coached in these previous days. So it was really good. As I would say again, thanks to the players for making it easy this first day for me. And the standard right now on the performance is high, so let’s go higher from this point, and we will grow from here for the future.”

“It’s under our control”

Brighton may have left without anything tangible for their performance, but Ruiz already has a clear idea of what needs to improve.

For the Spaniard, the fact those areas can be addressed on the training ground is reason for optimism.

“We know who we faced today, but I have very clear, and I didn’t see the game yet, about what we need to do better,” Ruiz said. “So that’s very good news, because it’s under our control, under my control to coach it with the team. So I just need time to get the points, and that way we will get the points on the performance.”

Ruiz wants Brighton to eventually become more dominant, both by creating more themselves and restricting the opportunities their opponents receive.

“And when we perform even better than today, we will receive less finishing situations and generate more, and control and have more possession, and be more dominant, even though our great rival that we had in front of us today,” he continued. “And we will feel more comfortable and more confident in the final minutes to get the chance to get the points. And that’s basically what I’m going to put the focus on in the next week, because we have a very different scenario, and the requirements of the game will be very different.

“So we will make it very good for sure next Sunday.”

Brighton’s response to Baum opener

One of the most encouraging aspects for Ruiz was Brighton’s reaction to falling behind.

Before Baum struck, the Seagulls had already produced one of the best opportunities of the opening stages, with Kiko Seike racing through one-on-one before debutant Arsenal goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez denied her.

Rather than allowing the goal to disrupt their approach, Brighton continued with the plan they had prepared.

“Our reaction was brilliant,” Ruiz said. “Obviously, we kept doing the game plan. We had a great chance before the goal that we conceded. Kiko, one-v-one, and Misa made a great save. But after that, I think that we kept competing. The last minutes of the first half were hard because they were better physically. But then in the second half, we performed really good. Our substitutions were really important to keep pushing and keep us solid during the second half.”

Brighton managed to make Arsenal increasingly uncomfortable after the interval, although the final pass or finish required to produce an equaliser remained elusive.

Ruiz acknowledged that improving his side’s work in the final third will require time.

“I think that Arsenal felt very uncomfortable during the whole second half, which talks good about us,” he said. “I think that our substitutions, some of them were late, because that was the way that today I wanted to do it, but they were good. I’m a little bit upset that we didn’t get more chances to score, but I think that we made enough in the second half to do it. But when we have more time together, we will have more clarity. We will be more clear about how to get finishing situations in the second half, even depending on what our rival is giving to us.”

That lack of cutting edge did not concern Ruiz after only nine days working with the squad.

“It’s a pity that we didn’t generate that many situations, but that’s one of the most difficult things in football, to have clarity how to finish in our game style,” he explained. “That’s something that you need some time [for]. It’s all about quality in that final third, and we have not been super good today there. But it’s not a problem. It’s all about time. It’s all about confidence. It’s all about keep growing. And [I’m] happy our reaction to the goal was really good because of all of these reasons.”

Targeting Arsenal’s full-backs

Brighton’s success in finding Seike in behind Arsenal’s defense was a deliberate part of Ruiz’s game plan.

The Brighton boss had identified the space Arsenal can leave behind their full-backs when they commit numbers centrally in possession.

“Arsenal, you know, they are very good [in] positional play, accumulating a lot of players inside, and they only put one player in the wide areas,” Ruiz explained. “So that means that the spaces on the back of the full-backs or the space in behind the full-backs are huge.”

Ruiz was particularly familiar with Arsenal full-back Ona Batlle from his time working in Spanish football.

“I know Ona very well from Barcelona because we’ve faced [her] in these last years in Spain,” he said. “And I think, well, Kiko is very good. We should have used [that side] more times because [we are] very good as well. But as you said, today, the right winger was the one generating the most finishing situations. We will be better in the future for that.”

“Process, high-performance mentality”

Ruiz’s ambitions stretch considerably further than producing competitive performances against the WSL’s leading teams.

Asked what Brighton would need to eventually establish themselves among clubs such as Arsenal as genuine title contenders, Ruiz highlighted three areas.

“Process, high-performance mentality, and make the most of our great resources that our board and our owner gives to us, because the resources of our club are huge,” he said. “So we just need to keep pushing. And I’ve just been nine days here and in contact with the club for two or three weeks, but I know the short history of the club. And if you see years ago, it wasn’t what it is, and in the coming years, it’s not going to be what it is right now. So I’m going to be just one piece and one person that helps the team to go to the long-term objectives, and let’s go step by step.”

Ruiz has already met Brighton owner Tony Bloom three times since arriving and has been impressed by the support and confidence shown in him.

“I’ve been here just for nine days, but I met him three times,” Ruiz said. “He’s been so nice with me, so positive, so confident in me. So I want to appreciate it, like all the board and all my teammates that have made it really easy for me in these first days. And yeah, I have very clear the objectives.”

Brighton’s kick-off conference at the Amex Stadium also gave Ruiz greater insight into the club’s long-term plans.

“Yesterday in the Amex, we had the kick-off conference, and it was very clear for me,” he said. “It was very good to know the long-term objectives of the club and the perspective of the club, and I have a lot of clarity. Just give me time to work and keep growing the team because this is the only thing that I need.”

Communication key for Ruiz

Ruiz was a particularly vocal presence on the touchline throughout his first competitive game in charge.

That was no coincidence.

The Brighton boss views open communication and strong relationships with his players as central to the environment he wants to create.

“I feel comfortable with that because one of my priorities is having clear communication and a healthy relationship with all my players, and I think that will help us,” Ruiz explained. “Having the field crowded or full is obviously super positive, but it makes it difficult to communicate with them. But this is professional. This is the best women’s league in the world, so I will get used to it very fast. And living this experience today is really helpful for me. But yeah, I’m very positive, and I’m very comfortable communicating and pushing them up, like they do with me.”

Injury updates

Ruiz also offered an encouraging initial assessment of Lia Wälti, who was forced off during the game.

Although further medical checks were still required, he did not expect the issue to be particularly serious. “I couldn’t be with her, but I think it’s not going to be anything difficult or dangerous,” Ruiz said. “So yeah, happy about that because she’s a very good person and a very good player for us. So yeah, just keep calm, and I think that this evening or tomorrow we’ll make medical [tests] with her, but I think it’s not going to be anything very difficult.”

Jelena Čanković, meanwhile, was absent from Brighton’s squad, but Ruiz confirmed her issue is not expected to keep her sidelined for an extended period.

“Not long-term. I don’t know exactly how many weeks, but it won’t be very long,” he said. “So she is working good and training right with the team, and I hope that she keeps on getting better, and we will have her soon. In the next press conferences, I will be able to give a more detailed timeline if I’m able to do it, and I will. I know it’s important to you, it’s important for the team, so I will get that information for the future.”

There were ultimately no points to accompany Ruiz’s first WSL performance, and the Brighton players left the pitch disappointed after coming so close to taking something from one of the competition’s strongest sides.

But after only nine days working together, Ruiz saw enough to reinforce his belief in where Brighton can go.

His immediate challenge is to sharpen their work in the final third, develop greater control and turn competitive displays into results.

The foundation, however, has been set.

“The standard right now on the performance is high,” Ruiz said.

“So let’s go higher from this point, and we will grow from here for the future.”