LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 1: Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall talks to his players after the Barclays ... [+]
With speculation mounting over his future after presiding over the club's worst run in nine years, Arsenal Women have handed coach Jonas Eidevall a new contract, believed to be for three years.
On Sunday, despite attracting a Barclays FA Women's Super League record attendance of 54,115 to the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal lost their opening game of the season 0-1 to Liverpool, a side without an away win in the top flight since Janurary 2020. Coupled with Arsenal's two defeats to finish the last campaign, it is the first time the club has lost three consecutive league matches since May 2014.
On that occasion, then-coach Shelley Kerr, tendered her resignation. While the two defeats last season could be dismissed as inconsequential considering the club had already secured a top-three position, the prize for finishing there, Champions League qualification, has already been squandered.
At the start of last month, Arsenal went out in Round 1 of the competition, defeated in a penalty shoot-out to Paris FC, missing out on the opportunity to qualify for the lucrative UEFA Women's Champions League group stage.
Arsenal had come within a whisker of reaching last season's Champions League final, losing in extra-time of the semi-final to VfL Wolfsburg with a squad depleted by several long-term injuries. This summer, Eidevall recruited five Women's World Cup players with a view to bolstering his already strong squad with an eye to competing at home and abroad only to have the number of potential matches for his team reduced immediately by European elimination.
Speaking after the defeat to Liverpool, Eidevall admitted, "there’s no one putting pressure on me to get results more than myself. I want to win so badly. Every time. There’s nothing that changes that. No matter how many people are interested. My expectations on myself and my willingness to win is so high and it doesn’t change that. Not at all."
"Are we performing at the level we want right now? No, we’re not. There’s no hiding from that. We need to be better and develop and we don’t have a lot of time to do that."
Tomorrow, Arsenal travel to play away to Manchester United, a side they lost to twice last season. Should they lose once more, it will leave them six points behind their opponents in a short 22-game season. It would also be the first time in WSL history that Arsenal will have lost four successive league matches.
Nonetheless, Arsenal has seen fit to reward Eidevall with a new contract, described as "long-term". Eidevall, who had previously led Swedish side Rosengård to three league titles, secured his first trophy in England last season, winning the League Cup final against Chelsea FC. However, he has failed to win the league title in his two years at the club, finishing second and third respectively.
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 05: Jonas Eidevall the Arsenal Women's Head Coach celebrates with the trophy ... [+]
Eidevall said "we’ve made great progress on and off the pitch over the last couple of years and we are all working hard to continue that growth every single day. Our ambition is to be competing for the highest honours in women’s football consistently and we all believe we are capable of achieving that."
"I’d also like to say a special thank you to our supporters. From the moment I arrived, I’ve felt your warm support and it means the world. Home or away, our supporters never fall short – to represent this club, this community, is an honour. Together, we can achieve so much."
Sporting Director Edu Gaspar added "we’re delighted to have agreed a new contract with Jonas. This is an exciting time for our women’s first team as we approach a new season and this announcement is an important sign of our renewed commitment to the journey ahead. As a club, our aim is to be challenging at the top of the game and Jonas will play a key role in us achieving that."
Although Arsenal did not specifically divulge the length of the contract signed by Eidevall, as is their club policy, it is believed to be for three years. Should he see out of the term, it will make him Arsenal Women's longest-serving head coach since the legendary Vic Akers who won 36 trophies in his 16 years in charge at the club.
LINKOPING, SWEDEN - SEPTEMBER 05: Arsenal coach renee Slegers chats to Arsenal Women's Head Coach ... [+]
Over the summer Eidevall extended his coaching team, bringing in former Arsenal players Renée Slegers and Kelly Smith as assistant coaches. Head of Women’s Football Clare Wheatley said "Jonas is a crucial part of what we are building here at Arsenal and we’re very pleased to say he has signed a new deal with us."
"He has overseen real progress since joining us in 2021, winning his first silverware and guiding us to the semi-finals of the Champions League last year. Jonas shares our ambitions for our club and we are looking forward to working towards them together over the coming years."
