Chelsea defeat spells end of Eidevall´s Arsenal tenure

Jonas Eidevall has called time on his spell as Arsenal head coach after an underwhelming start to the campaign.

The Gunners have been tipped as title contenders in the Women’s Super League this season, yet they have won just one of their opening four matches.

They also went down 5-2 to Bayern Munich in their first Women’s Champions League group stage match last week, before losing 2-1 to Chelsea to suffer their first loss of the WSL season.

A bad week that started with a draw against struggling Everton and ended with that loss to Chelsea at Emirates Stadium has ultimately signalled the end of Eidevall’s tenure.

Arsenal confirmed on Tuesday that the Swede, who was appointed in June 2021 and has overseen 120 matches in all competitions, had resigned.

Renee Slegers, the first team assistant coach, will take over in the interim until Arsenal, who face Valerenga on Wednesday before taking on West Ham on Sunday, confirm their next permanent appointment.

Gunners sporting director Edu said: “We thank Jonas for his commitment to the club and achievements here since joining us in 2021. We have great respect for the dedication and commitment he showed to our women’s first team and recognise the role he has played in the growth and development of Arsenal Women.

“We all wish him the very best for the future. Our focus will now turn to the process of appointing a new head coach, and in the meantime, supporting Renee, as she takes interim charge of the team starting with two important fixtures this week.”

Club statement: Jonas Eidevall

— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) October 15, 2024

Eidevall led Arsenal to back-to-back Women’s League Cup titles in 2022-23 and 2023-24, as well as finishing second in the WSL in his first season, and third in each of the past two campaigns.

The 41-year-old won 80 matches in all competitions, for a win ratio of 66.67%.

In the WSL, he picked up an average of 2.24 points per game from 70 matches. Of the five Arsenal bosses to oversee at least 10 fixtures in the competition, that points per game average is the fourth-lowest, ahead of only Pedro Martinez Losa (1.94).

On Saturday, in the defeat to Chelsea, Eidevall matched his predecessor Joe Montemurro as the Arsenal manager with the most games in the WSL.

Eidevall’s team scored 171 goals, winning 49 games (70%). Since he took over at Arsenal, only Man City (178) and Chelsea (209) have scored more goals than the Gunners.

Meanwhile, of ever-present WSL teams in that time, only Chelsea (45) have conceded fewer goals than Arsenal (50), and the Blues are also the only side to lose fewer matches (seven, compared to the Gunners’ 11 defeats).