Arsenal star Frida Maanum has spoken to her mother and assured her she is ‘OK’ after her terrifying collapse during the women’s league cup final, MailOnline can exclusively reveal.
Maanum, 24, was seen on TV by her worried mother Liz-Heidi Leonhardsen as she collapsed during a match against Chelsea in Sunday’s women’s League Cup final.
Leonhardsen told MailOnline she was at home in the Norwegian capital Oslo when she saw her daughter dramatically crash to the ground in the 95th minute.
She said: ‘It was very worrying, but I have now spoken with her and she is OK, thank you for asking. The Arsenal medical team have taken good care of her and she will now undergo all the necessary tests.
‘I have been in contact with her but for the time being I have no immediate plans to travel to London.’
Arsenal star Frida Maanum (pictured during the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup Final on Sunday) has spoken to her mother and assured her she is ‘OK’ after her terrifying collapse, MailOnline can exclusively reveal
Frida Maanum is surrounded by teammates after her collapse yesterday as her manager Jonas Eidevall (bottom left) gesticulates to get the match stopped and medics on to the pitch
Maanum’s worried mother Liz-Heidi Leonhardsen, pictured with her daughter, told MailOnline today: ‘It was very worrying, but I have now spoken with her and she is OK, thank you for asking. The Arsenal medical team have taken good care of her and she will now undergo all the necessary tests’
Earlier Leonhardsen, who works for a real estate company in Oslo had told Norwegian media: ‘It was a nightmare to follow the whole thing on TV without knowing what was going on.
‘Fortunately, I received a relatively quick update from a friend of hers who was at the match – Frida is doing well now and she is being followed up by the medical team at Arsenal’.
It is not known if the friend who told Maanum’s mother is her partner Emma Lennartsson, a Swedish footballer who plays with Linkoping FC.
Maanum collapsed in 95th minute and required oxygen, only finding out later that her team Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 in extra time after she spoke to her manager Jonas Eidevall after the game at Molineux yesterday.
Eidevall was seen waving his hands wildly and pointing at Maanum after she collapsed during the Conti Cup final.
Arsenal’s left back Katie McCabe sprinted to her side and called for medics to enter the pitch quickly.
It emerged after the game that Maanum was well enough to travel back to London with the Arsenal’ Women’s team.
She appeared unresponsive for several minutes as Molineux fell silent while paramedics checked on her.
The midfielder was not given CPR before she left the pitch on a stretcher with an oxygen mask.
Speaking after Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in extra time Eidevall said he had spoken to the Norwegian and revealed she would join her teammates on the trip back to London.
‘I have been able to have a conversation with her but not on a medical perspective,’ he told talkSPORT.
Emma Hayes’ extraordinary shove on Jonas Eidevall at full time in the women’s league cup final was sparked by a touchline bust-up over the match ball just a minute earlier , it emerged today
This is the moment that shows why Emma Hayes was left fuming with Jonas Eidevall (right in the camel coloured coat)
Eidevall clashed with Chelsea’s Erin Cuthbert during the match over use of the match balls
Jonas Eidevall was then shouting and Emma Hayes turned towards him
‘I just checked in with her, how she is doing and telling her that we won and understanding a little bit about the next steps, but I don’t have any medical update.
‘She is going to travel back with the team and after that we will provide an update.’
The reason for Maanum’s collapse is still unknown but she was said to be responsive and talking after the game and will continue to be monitored by Arsenal’s medical team.
The Gunners went on to beat Chelsea in extra-time, with Stina Blackstenius netting the winner in the 116th minute.
‘This is probably one of the hardest situations because it looks very scary when Frida goes down,’ Eidevall said.
‘Immediately after the game, we don’t care about winning, we care about Frida – that is most important,’ the Arsenal boss added.
‘But there was nothing we could do to control that situation, we can concentrate on football, and we wanted to make Frida a champion.
England forward Alessia Russo, who came on in her place, added: ‘It’s devastating to see one of your team-mates go down like that. We’re all wishing and praying that she’s OK.
‘I think it was written in the stars that her best mate went and scored the winner for her. Frida is a massive player and plays with every bit of her body. She did that today. We just hope she’s OK.’
Norwegian women’s national team coach Gemma Grainger said: ‘We are very sad. Our medical apparatus is in dialogue with Arsenal and will follow her closely. We send her warm thoughts and our best wishes.’
It is not known if the friend who told Maanum’s mother is her partner Emma Lennartsson, (pictured together) a Swedish footballer who plays with Linkoping FC
Maanum collapsed to the turf in the 95th minute of the League Cup final at Molineux
She was immediately attended to by club doctors and paramedics, who rushed onto the pitch
The 24-year-old left on a stretcher with a oxygen mask, but did not need CPR
Emma Hayes’ extraordinary shove on Eidevall at full time in the women’s league cup final was sparked by a touchline bust-up over the match ball just a minute earlier, it emerged today.
Chelsea’s boss, 47, pushed her Arsenal counterpart, 41, after his team’s 1-0 win and later blasted his ‘male aggression’, insisting the nudge was her standing up for her players – not sour grapes.
New footage from the 120th minute of the match reveals the incident that left Emma Hayes raging at Jonas Eidevall.
Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert had rushed to take a throw-in late in extra time – and a row ensued.
Cuthbert had attempted to use a new ball but Eidevall had tried to stop her because the final was not being played with a multi-ball system – at Chelsea’s behest – meaning she had to collect the original ball that had gone out of play before she could restart the game.
When the final whistle went seconds later, a celebrating Eidevall went to shake Hayes’ hand – but the Chelsea manager was seen pointing at her counterpart before giving him a good shove in the stomach.
Emma Hayes appears to shove Jonas Eidevall following Arsenal’s Conti Cup win over Chelsea
The Chelsea boss throws an angry accusing finger in the direction of her rival after the game
Emma Hayes walks away following the altercation
After the match, Eidevall explained that he believed Hayes’ anger stemmed from the incident between him and Erin Cuthbert.
He explained: ‘Arsenal wanted it to be played with a multi-ball system, Chelsea wanted it to be played with a one ball system. Therefore the final was played with a one ball system.
‘That incident… the ball gets kicked away and Chelsea wants to take a new ball to throw a quick throw in and I said ‘you guys wanted to play with one ball, now we need to get that ball’. Of course Erin doesn’t get happy over that, I didn’t say anything more in that situation.
‘If we decide to play with one ball we play with one ball. I like to play with multi-ball, the game is quick, but they didn’t want to do it and you can’t do it when it suits you.
‘I think there is definitely a way you behave in the technical area, there is also a way you behave after the game, being a good winner, but you also need to be a good loser and be responsible in both those situations. I’m happy with the way I conduct myself and others need to look in the mirror and see if they’re happy with themselves.’
Arsenal’s Frida Maanum is stable after collapsing during the Women’s League Cup final
Hayes was absolutely fuming with Eidevall after the match – but said she hoped they would speak when things had calmed down.
‘I think there’s a way to conduct yourself on the touchline, I really do,’ Hayes said.
‘I think it’s absolutely essential that we role model in the right way. I’m not down for male aggression on the touch line.
‘I’m really not, and fronting up to players, for me, that’s unacceptable. I’m disappointed and I told Jonas that.
‘I don’t think it’s OK to behave like that. He got a yellow card and he should have probably been sent off.
‘I’m all for competing to win, I’ve never been booked in 12 years, my time here, I totally accept he’s a winner and wants to win but his behaviour on the touchline wasn’t acceptable.
‘The way he fronted up to Erin I didn’t think was acceptable.
‘I was clear with him, I did not think it was acceptable. It’s not the first time he’s been told about his behaviour on the touchline. I want to say congratulations to Arsenal. They’ve won and I don’t want the talking point to be about that.’
When Eidevall was told Hayes had used the words ‘male aggression’ to describe his behaviour, the Arsenal boss responded by saying: ‘I think that’s a very irresponsible way of labelling the behaviour that I had. I don’t think it’s the truth.
‘I definitely don’t see me as aggressive in that situation, I think that’s very irresponsible putting that label onto it’.
The Gunners went on to beat Chelsea in extra-time, with Stina Blackstenius netting the winner in the 116th minute.
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