Oct 16, 2024, 07:00 AM ET
LONDON — A damaging five days for former Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall began with a 5-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Wednesday and ended with the Swede offering his resignation on Monday after the 2-1 loss to Chelsea in the Women’s Super League (WSL).
While the club did not play badly in either game, the writing was on the wall. Literally. A large piece of “JONAS OUT” graffiti had been sprayed in white on the brick wall opposite the Emirates Stadium ahead of the Chelsea game, signalling that not only has women’s football risen in profile — such outcries are usually reserved for the men’s game — but also that the fans’ faith in their manager had reached breaking point after a poor start to the season.
Resentment had been steadily building ahead of the 5-2 humbling as the Gunners picked up just one win from their first three WSL games, with some fans seen at the Chelsea fixture waving fake P45 letters, the kind given to people who are made redundant. Consecutive losses raised the volume of distaste to new heights, and when it permeated among his players, something had to give.
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
Multiple sources told ESPN that Eidevall had lost the dressing room off the back of those two defeats. A source said that the external unhappiness of fans and the media far outweighed the pressure inside the club, with the Gunners prepared to wait until the international break next week to consider his future. But in the 48 hours that followed the Chelsea game, the Swede took the decision that the breakdown with the fans had gone too far, and decided that he was done.
When Eidevall sat down with ESPN during the club’s preseason U.S. tour., he spoke about the four phases his teams go through, and how the aptly named “Storming Phase” — where conflicts arise and are confronted — was the one he wanted to iron out ahead of the start of this season. However, the storm was too great for the Swede to weather and as his players lost faith in the philosophy that he first introduced, there was only one course of action left.
‘You would never celebrate second place’
Jonas Eidevall turned things around at Arsenal but jumped before he was pushed. Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
When Eidevall arrived from Rosengård to replace Joe Montemurro in 2021, he inherited an Arsenal team struggling for confidence. The squad had stagnated since clinching the 2019 WSL title, particularly in key matches. His first game in charge, a London derby against Emma Hayes’ mighty Chelsea at the Emirates, was a pivotal moment: Arsenal claimed a thrilling 3-2 victory, setting the perfect tone for a new era and the season ahead.
When Eidevall spoke to ESPN three months ago, he revealed how he handles pressure and how his past, being brought up in Mälmo, created an identity where winning was everything.
“There is a saying in Malmö and that is: ‘Silver, you don’t win silver. Silver, you get for free, but you win Gold,’ and it’s because in Malmö you would never celebrate second place,” he said. “I come from an environment and that city where the only thing that matters is Gold, and the only thing that matters is winning.”
This became a key part of the philosophy and identity he brought to an Arsenal side that had been battling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and fatigue under his predecessor. Eidevall rebuilt the squad in his first season, integrating new faces (forward Stina Blackstenius and defender Laura Wienroither to name just two) who have since become core players, and his approach reinvigorated the team. By the end of the season, they finished just a point behind WSL winners Chelsea and while he would never celebrate this near-success, it showed the effectiveness of his vision and suggested that Eidevall could be the one to end Arsenal’s title drought in the future.
It was clear the players were energised, fueled by the new manager and his commitment to attacking football that allowed them to thrive. While no one expected Eidevall to deliver trophies right away, the ambition to drive for silverware in the coming seasons was clear.
That debut campaign laid the groundwork for a more successful second season. Arsenal reached the Champions League semifinals despite an injury crisis — forwards Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead, defenders Leah Williamson and midfielder Kim Little all missed significant time — and won the 2023 League Cup with an emphatic 3-1 victory over Chelsea, ending a three-year trophy drought. However, while the League Cup was a crucial win, it wasn’t enough. Arsenal fell out of the WSL title race before the final weeks, finishing 11 points adrift in third, which placed pressure on the team to achieve even more in the seasons ahead.
Cracks begin to show
Clashes with star striker Vivianne Miedema saw the player left in the summer for Man City. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
The 2023-24 season did not start well as Arsenal crashed out of the Champions League in the first phase of qualifying to Paris FC and failed to make the group stage. It was a disastrous start to the campaign, compounded further by a WSL opening-day defeat 1-0 to Liverpool.
It was far from the quick start the club had hoped for, but Arsenal’s bosses showed faith in Eidevall by handing him a new three-year contract in October 2023, a day before the next crucial match against Manchester United, who had beaten them twice the previous season. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, and it took until the third match — a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Aston Villa — for the Gunners to secure their first win of the campaign.
Inconsistency in both performances and results defined last season. Despite an emphatic 4-1 victory over rivals Chelsea at home, Arsenal struggled to deliver away against lower-table teams like West Ham (2-1 defeat) and Everton (1-1 draw). As the season progressed, even their strong showings against top-four opponents faltered, culminating in a heavy 3-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The warning signs were clear, and alarm bells began to ring.
An early FA Cup exit to Manchester City in the Fifth Round came in February, and despite following it up with wins over Man United and Tottenham, the damaging Chelsea defeat left them out of WSL title contention. Once again, the League Cup was their only hope and while they secured the title for a second year running at the end of March, the lack of silverware was beginning to become a problem for a team with such a rich history of success.
Off-pitch issues were not going away either. Clashes with star striker Miedema resulted in the decision to let the WSL’s all-time top scorer depart the club on a free transfer at the end of the season, with sources telling ESPN that Arsenal did not offer her a new contract. But by offering Eidevall a new deal while forfeiting one of the best finishers in the world because she didn’t fit his preferred style of play, it was clear that the club backed the manager and his philosophy.
Fans had been outraged at the decision to move on Miedema and a swirl of anger against the Swede, who was deemed responsible, began over the summer. Allowing the best striker in the history of the league to leave for a direct rival in Manchester City was not a good look, and once Arsenal’s struggles in front of goal were laid bare, the pressure reached boiling point.
Frustration grows
Arsenal’s inaugural preseason tour to the U.S. was engineered to prepare the team for the expectations of the upcoming season: winning big. The club were no longer content with Eidevall’s two League Cups in three seasons. He knew this was a make-or-break season in which he must deliver trophies, especially as his great rival Hayes had left Chelsea to take over the USWNT job.
The club spent 10 days in the Washington heat, training, bonding and facing tough opponents — the NWSL‘s Washington Spirit and WSL rivals Chelsea — to give them the best start possible ahead of their Champions League qualifiers. With a dominant 6-0 win over Rangers and 1-0 victory against Rosenborg, things looked on track, but Arsenal’s 1-0 first-leg defeat in the second round against BK Häcken marked what Eidevall admitted was a “step backwards.” Despite recovering to win 4-1 on aggregate to book their place in the group stage, their early momentum had stalled.
Who is the best women’s player of 2024?
Pick your top women’s soccer player of 2024 in our ESPN FC Women’s Rank fan poll. Then, tune into ESPN.com on Nov. 13 to see who wins! Vote now
And it stalled further after a 2-2 draw against Manchester City on WSL opening day — where, course, Miedema scored against her old club — was followed by an unconvincing 1-0 win over Leicester City and a lacklustre goalless draw with Everton. For the first time in 10 years, Arsenal failed to win three consecutive home games, a record Eidevall could ill afford as frustration among the fans kept growing.
A source told ESPN that the club wanted to win several pieces of major silverware this campaign. This was the standard they set. But the loss to Chelsea left them with only four points from three games — five points adrift of leaders City — and far from how they needed to start a 22-game campaign. Worse still, the players looked downtrodden and confused when Eidevall spoke in his final team huddle, and he stormed down the tunnel rather than doing the standard lap of applause to thank the fans. The atmosphere was hostile, and it was clear Eidevall thought his time was over.
Pinpointing exactly what went wrong over the past three seasons is challenging and according to one source, it was only in the past four weeks that things truly began to unravel. But there had been signs. Preseason optimism quickly faded as gaps in performances became evident, and when the game plan stopped delivering results, the situation rapidly deteriorated.
Summer signing Mariona Caldentey — one of the best players in the world for former club Barcelona and Spain — visually showed this against Everton when Eidevall, stood on the touchline, tried to explain a shift in the game plan to her. The Catalan just turned to him, looking confused, and said “Que?” (“What?”) in Spanish.
How will the club move forward?
Eidevall’s final few weeks at Arsenal shouldn’t overshadow the dedication, hard work and loyalty he displayed throughout his tenure. He reignited the club, fostering a competitive spirit that allowed the team to challenge and defeat their fiercest rivals.
Now, a new era begins under former Netherlands international Renée Slegers, who steps in as interim manager. This isn’t the first time Slegers has succeeded Eidevall — when he left Rosengård to join Arsenal, she led the team for the following two seasons. No one understands the current squad or Eidevall’s system better than she does.
Though Slegers’ appointment is temporary, it’s a logical decision. The squad was built around Eidevall’s philosophy and bringing in a new manager with a different approach could disrupt that. Slegers, familiar with the current structure, can fine-tune the existing system while the club search for a permanent replacement.
There has been plenty of speculation around potential candidates, but a source told ESPN that former Manchester United and San Diego Wave manager Casey Stoney is not currently in the running. The process is underway, but time is critical. Several key players are out of contract this summer, and with Eidevall losing the dressing room, his departure was seen as essential to keeping them. However, if the club fail to find the right successor, they could still risk losing a host of stars for nothing the end of the season.
