Arsenal Women boss Jonas Eidevall resigns following poor start to 2024/25 campaign; Gunners suffered 5-2 defeat in first Champions League game against Bayern Munich; a lifeless 0-0 draw with Everton was followed up by a 2-1 loss to Chelsea in the WSL, leaving them five points off top
Tuesday 15 October 2024 15:46, UK
Jonas Eidevall has resigned as Arsenal Women head coach following their poor start to the 2024/25 campaign.
The 41-year-old came under pressure following the slow start to the Women's Super League season which included draws to both Manchester City and Everton.
His final game was a 2-1 defeat to reigning champions Chelsea on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium, which came days after Arsenal lost their opening Champions League group game 5-2 to Bayern Munich.
Eidevall's assistant Renée Slegers will take interim charge, with the search for a new head coach underway. The Gunners face Valerenga in their next Champions League group game at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
Arsenal have won one of their opening four games in the WSL and are the joint-third lowest scorers with just four goals to their name so far.
The Gunners were busy in the summer window with Mariona Caldentey, Daphne Van Domselaar, Rosa Kafaji and Sophie Harwood all arriving but the Gunners did lose all time leading WSL goalscorer Vivianne Miedema to Manchester City.
Sky Sports' Anton Toloui:
"I'm surprised by the wording of Arsenal's statement, which sounds like he jumped before he was pushed, to be brutally honest.
"We know Arsenal's start to the season has been highly frustrating. We know Jonas Eidevall has been open about the fact he felt he was giving the job his all, the players were giving their all, and it just wasn't happening on the field in big games.
"He also said he was determined to put things right. Speaking to sources around the training ground, I was told he was at Colney yesterday, so the assumption was he was taking training ahead of a Champions League game against Valerenga on Tuesday.
"Now we've been told assistant coach Renee Slegers will take charge of that. It does feel like that game is a must-win, and so too is the WSL game against West Ham this weekend.
"The statement is full of respect for Jonas, from sporting director Edu Gaspar and from director of women's football Clare Wheatley, but results haven't been good enough and Jonas has been backed in the transfer market.
"There will be rumours about who is next in at Arsenal, and there is one obvious name that jumps to the top of the candidate list, that is Casey Stoney, who is currently a free agent.
"She was at the Emirates watching Arsenal lose to Chelsea on Saturday. She's a former Arsenal player and won a lot with the club back in the day. She will be right at the top of the list, but as of now, we have no clear indication of which direction the club is likely to go in."
England Women manager Sarina Wiegman reacting to the news: "I just heard it, and it was a little bit of a shock.
"I didn't expect it, and it is very sad. I had a good working relationship with him, little bit flabbergasted to be honest!
"The game is growing so much, and it is visible so much. It is getting bigger and bigger so that is coming too. That is part of the game, so some negatives are coming.
"I haven't spoken to them [the Arsenal players]. I've had contact but not about this. I will speak with them next week."
Sky Sports' Laura Hunter:
The real surprise here is that Jonas Eidevall has walked rather than been sacked. Perhaps that's a pride thing, because the murmurings from Arsenal, and those within the club's hierarchy, is that he retained their backing to turn this slump around.
Eidevall is the type of character that is a deep, analytical thinker, and he would have been hurt by what he saw on Saturday. Not only were his side woeful - at least for the first half - against Chelsea, but he had also seemingly lost the support of the crowd he'd worked so hard to cultivate over the past three and a bit years.
The Swedish head coach has played a huge part in the biggest off-pitch transformation Arsenal - or any WSL club - have ever witnessed. And that comes with pressure. Fans turn up to the Emirates expecting to be entertained, and demanding to win. Neither of those boxes have been checked this season and maybe Eidevall could not see a quick fix.
Ultimately, this Arsenal squad is far too talented to be struggling this much. Their underperformance at both ends of the pitch was evident for all to see against Chelsea on Saturday, and so maybe the time is right for someone new, with fresh ideas to pick up the mantle and carry this team forwards.
Stagnation is really hard to reverse once it has set in but Eidevall's tenure will, for the most part, be viewed favourably by Arsenal's ever-expanding following. It's a shame it has ended on such a low ebb.
Courtney Sweetman-Kirk on Sky Sports News:
"I was there on Saturday against Chelsea and the body language of some of the players was not right, but how much can you read into that?
"The Everton result in particular was not one you would expect from Arsenal and in terms of how they capitulated in the Bayern game, it was 1-1 and to lose in the manner that they did was a massive shock.
"It's just is not clicking in forward areas, and they have all the players you could want - Beth Mead cannot find her best form, Stina Blackstenius comes in and out, Alessia Russo worked really hard on the weekend, but opportunities do not seem to be dropping.
"They are a bit in transition, in a season when they should not be - earlier in the season against Man City, they went in a low block, which actually worked quite well at times - but they are trying to play different styles and you think about Arsenal, and they should be imposing themselves on teams, it should be about Arsenal and how they play."
Interim Arsenal boss Renee Slegers:
"Spoke to him yesterday and I was shocked by the news. I was very sad as he's been a good leader. I am sad that it got to this point.
"When I got the question, I felt like if this is how we need to go forward, I am happy to do it. I care about the team and I care about the players. I am happy to."
When asked if she saw herself as a possible permanent replacement for Eidevall, Slegers added: "Right now I am just focused on the next two games ahead of. The future I am not so concerned about. I was 100 per cent loyal to the work I was doing with Jonas."
Arsenal midfielder Kim Little:
"Jonas has been our leader for the last four years and we have a huge amount of respect for him. As part of the leadership group, we have to get the players together and move forward. We need to be as supportive as we can to our staff, with Renee going into the interim role.
"That's what we said and that's all we can do. It will be challenging but there's been a few times in my career that this has happened. We need to put a good performance in."
October 16: Valerenga (H), Champions League, kick-off 8pm
October 20: West Ham (A), Women's Super League, kick-off 3pm
November 3: Man Utd (A), Women's Super League, kick-off 12.30pm
November 8: Brighton (H), Women's Super League, kick-off 7pm
November 12: Juventus (A), Champions League, kick-off 5.45pm
November 16: Tottenham (A), Women's Super League, kick-off 1.45pm
