Arsenal Women: Renee Slegers confirmed as permanent head coach following departure of Jonas Eidevall | Football news
Arsenal have appointed Renee Slegers as the permanent successor to Jonas Eidevall after a highly successful spell as interim head coach.
Slegers, appointed on a temporary basis, oversaw 10 wins from 11 matches in a three-month unbeaten run as Arsenal climbed from fifth to third in the WSL and secured automatic Champions League qualification.
The 35-year-old Dutch player has signed a contract until the end of the 2025-26 season.
Eidevall resigned in mid-October after three years at the helm. The decision came after a defeat to Chelsea, with Arsenal managing just one win in their opening four Women’s Super League games.
Slegers is a former Dutch international midfielder and has been part of Arsenal’s back-line since 2023 following a two-year spell in charge of Rosengard, where they won back-to-back Swedish league titles in 2021 and 2022.
“I’m so excited to continue our journey together,” Slegers said. “It is a wonderful honor to represent this club as the head coach and I believe so much in what we can achieve together.
“Over the past few months I have felt such a strong sense of collective ownership and responsibility from our players and staff – that has been our strength and I know we will make sure we drive and nurture that feeling as we all move forward.
“It meant a lot to me to feel the closeness and passion of our fans during this process and I want to thank you all for that. We want to deliver something beautiful that is inspiring and leads to winning trophies. We all have a big part to play in achieving that.”
Slegers, who made 55 appearances for the Netherlands before retiring in 2016, spent time in Arsenal’s youth academy between 2006 and 2007 and also represented Dutch side Willem II and Swedish sides Djurgardens and Linkoping.
Arsenal’s director of women’s football, Clare Wheatley, added: “We are delighted to appoint Renée as our permanent head coach. Renée has excelled in her role as interim head coach, bringing our team, club and fans together and leading us to an extremely impressive run of results and performances.
“We have conducted a thorough recruitment process to identify the best candidate to lead our women’s first team at this exciting time. Renée has been a standout candidate throughout the process and we are delighted to continue our journey with her as our permanent head coach.
“Renée understands the values and ambitions of our club, with experience representing Arsenal both as a young player and now as a coach. We are fully confident that she is the best person to lead us forward as we compete for trophies and beyond this season.”
Arsenal take on Crystal Palace at Meadow Park on Sunday, with the chance to overtake Manchester City in second place in the WSL table.
Slegers has been Arsenal’s stalwart – he deserves his chance
Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter:
94 days have passed since Jonas Eidevall left Arsenal. The Gunners have played 11 games since that gloomy day in October, winning 10 and drawing one. The progress is marked, both in results and performance, and the credit goes to Renee Slegers.
A number of coaches from around the world were considered for the permanent position at Arsenal, but none had such a convincing record on the hot seat. Slegers was a candidate lucky enough to already be in — an obvious advantage — but her graduation from interim chief was no less well-deserved.
The Dutchwoman has been labeled a shoo-in by some, including this journalist, but such praise is deserved for the ‘Arsenal way’ of results and an impressive display of strength to pull herself out of adversity.
Simply, she was the mainstay of the club
Read the full article on Arsenal’s turnaround under Slegers.
