Renée Slegers is named permanent Arsenal head coach after 10 wins from 11 | OneFootball

Arsenal have named the interim head coach Renée Slegers as the permanent successor to Jonas Eidevall after an impressive temporary spell in charge.

The 35-year-old has signed a contract to the end of the 2025-26 season after three months as interim.

“Renée was the standout candidate of a thorough recruitment process,” said Arsenal’s director of women’s football, Clare Wheatley.

The Gunners are unbeaten since the assistant Slegers stepped up following Eidevall’s resignation on 15 October, having secured 10 wins from 11 games in all competitions. Meanwhile, they have scored 31 goals and conceded five in that time, only conceding once in the league to contribute to the second-best defensive record in the WSL.

Prior to that, the mood was low. A limp 0-0 draw with Everton was followed by a humbling 5-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in their opening game of the Champions League group stage, and then a 2-1 loss to title rivals Chelsea, before Eidevall offered the club his resignation.

Last week, the Guardian confirmed Slegers was among the candidates in the final round of interviews as the appointment of a permanent manager neared, having galvanised players and fans alike.

“I’m so excited to be continuing our journey together,” said Slegers. “It’s a wonderful honour to represent this club as head coach and I have so much belief in what we can all achieve together.

“Over the past few months, I’ve felt such a powerful sense of collective ownership and responsibility across our players and staff – that has been our strength, and I know we will make sure we drive and nurture this feeling as we all move forward.”

Slegers joined Arsenal as an assistant to Eidevall in 2023 after two years as head coach of Swedish side Rosengård, where she won back-to-back Damallsvenskan titles. The former Netherlands international, who was in the Arsenal academy between 2006 and 2007, benefited from the vocal backing of supporters as 2024 reached its close, with the last line of the chorus of Last Christmas converted to “I’ll give it to Renée Slegers” sung loudly at games.

“It has meant the world to me to feel the closeness and passion of our supporters during this process, and I want to thank you all for that,” said Slegers. “We want to deliver something beautiful that’s inspiring and leads to winning trophies. We all have a big part to play in achieving that.”

Slegers received the public endorsement of former manager Eidevall, following his unveiling as the new manager of San Diego Wave, when, in an interview with Aftonbladet he described her as “a great leader” and said he thought her continuing in the role would “be the best for the club”.

Last Thursday Slegers was named as the WSL manager of the month for December in a clean sweep for the club, with Alessia Russo named player of the month and the scorer of goal of the month.

Wheatley said: “Renée understands the values and ambitions of our club, with experience of representing Arsenal both as a young player and now in a coaching capacity. We have every confidence that she is the best person to take us forward as we compete for trophies this season and beyond.”

Club co-chairman Josh Kroenke, said: “We’ve all been incredibly impressed by the way Renée has led the team since October, nurturing a great collective spirit across the group and instilling belief in what we do and what we want to achieve – to win trophies and drive women’s football forward together.”

The Gunners kickstart their 2025 on Sunday against Crystal Palace at Borehamwood, following the postponement of their FA Cup fourth-round tie against Bristol City due to a frozen pitch.

Header image: [Photograph: Massimo Pinca/Reuters]