Snoeijs urges Toffees to believe in themselves at title-chasing Arsenal

Katja Snoeijs is in confident mood ahead of Everton's return to Women's Super League action after the winter break.

The Toffees travel to title challengers Arsenal tomorrow, buoyed by last Saturday's 3-0 victory at Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round.

Forward Snoeijs, 27, scored two late goals at the Bescot Stadium — her first strikes of the season — and is now relishing another important game. 

But she stresses Everton cannot affford to dwell on their underdogs tag when they head to Meadow Park to tackle Jonas Eidevall's high-flying side.

The Netherlands international told LiveScore: "It's certainly going to be challenging.

"But sometimes games are better where you're not the favourites. You want to show you're capable of getting a result against a team with so much quality.

"However, you also don't want to see yourself too much as underdogs. You have to trust in your own skills and tactics.

"So once the Arsenal game starts, we won't feel like underdogs. I feel we can compete with them."

On the front foot

Snoeijs knows Everton cannot afford to sit back and invite pressure against an Arsenal side sitting third in the WSL having notched seven wins from 10 games, scoring 24 goals along the way.

She said: "Keeping the ball is going to be key because Arsenal are so good at it.

"They will press and regain possession, so we need to try and keep the ball to give ourselves more energy later in the game.

"My role pressing from the front will be key. It's something I've been working on for a while now.

"There have been games where we've been too passive and teams in this league are now so good at playing through you.

"A lot of players are actually mentioning the quality levels in the WSL this season. It's one of the best leagues in the world.

"Every team is capable of competing with one another."

Confidence boost

Everton's impressive attacking display against Villa should give them the confidence to test Arsenal's defence, with Snoeijs admitting Brian Sorensen's team have been working hard in training to try and boost their offensive output.

The Toffees are the second-lowest scorers in the WSL with only nine goals from 10 matches.

Snoeijs added: "There's a lot of stuff to be improved on higher up the pitch. I don't think we've created loads of chances, which is a bit frustrating for a striker.

"So yeah, the Villa game was a huge positive. We showed we can click in attack and created bigger, better chances.

"We performed well and got the result we deserve, which will give us confidence going into Saturday."

Fresh faces

Everton bolstered their squad last week by signing Denmark internationals Kathrine Moller Kuhl and Rikke Madsen, with the pair debuting from the bench against the Villans.

And Snoeijs has been impressed by how quickly they have settled in.

She said: "It shows their quality that they were able to come in against Villa after just two days and help us get the result. 

"Kuhl was involved in both of my goals, so I think the whole process has been very positive. 

"Two players chipping in right from the start and it feels like they've been here all season — it's just great really."