When Jonas Eidevall steps into the technical area at Prenton Park as Arsenal play Liverpool in the Women’s Super League on Sunday, it will be his 100th game in charge. In two and a half seasons in north London a lot has changed, both at the club and in the manager.
“It’s impossible to step in at Arsenal and not change in some ways, for the better,” he says. “The values of the club and the way you must represent the club, on and off the pitch, I’m certain will make you a better person.”
How has he changed? “Change is never easy to notice when you’re in it, but I hope I have matured as a person and as a leader.”
In a small meeting room at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground, he pauses, searching for the right words. “I came into this role using my mouth more than my ears. I am finding a better balance. I have to because I’m surrounded by so many great individuals, both players and staff, and getting used to working with that makes you ask more questions and to involve them more in the decision-making.
“You want to create more buy-in, more motivation. I move more and more in that direction every month I work here. We are going from being very much a coach-led environment to trying to be a more player-led environment, listening, having players being accountable and taking responsibility.”
Eidevall is an animated and passionate manager on the touchline but watching him now stands in contrast to his first Arsenal game, against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on the opening weekend of the 2021-22 season. Then, he celebrated the 3-2 victory over the reigning champions emphatically, sinking to his knees, fists pumping, mouth wide.
His celebrations drew the ire of opposing fans and were mocked, but the context was lost. Eidevall had moved to London leaving his wife and their 12-month-old twins behind. He had planned to travel back to Sweden to help them move to London before Arsenal travelled to Moscow for a Champions League qualifier but that had not happened, separating him from his family for some time. Only before the Chelsea game had his family joined him. The celebration then, was laced with the stress, relief and emotion of a tough few weeks.
“Would I do that today? No. But, everything has its time,” he says. “It was a big moment, relocating with a family, there were a lot of things to take care of behind the scenes.
“We knew we needed to perform better and compete better against the top teams. We were able to do that, it was a real team effort in defending that victory all the way home and you could feel that the crowd was behind us. That was my passion coming out.
“Do I regret that I did it? Not at all. Because it was important for the players to see who they were going to work with. I live for winning games like that. Football is my life. I’m consumed by football. That was my way of showcasing that. Two and a half years at Arsenal? I’d probably choose some other way to showcase it today.”
Arsenal looked very different when Eidevall walked through the door. His office was in a temporary building, with plans for a new hub for the women’s team in progress. “Straight away you felt like you were coming into something that is growing,” says Eidevall. We sit in that hub for this interview, in a small meeting room with club branding and dark red leather chairs with gold Arsenal crests printed on. Towards the end of predecessor Joe Montemurro’s tenure, Arsenal had undergone an extensive review of the women’s setup.
The number of staff devoted to the women’s team has doubled since Eidevall’s arrival. There is now a canteen with a full-time chef and a nutritionist. The small technical team has expanded to a bigger group with specialist coaches. The expansion of the team of strength and conditioning staff and the medical team has meant they can be more personalised in their approaches to different players and different groups of players.
The culture around the club is strong, and the fans have become so invested in the side. They capitalised on England’s triumph at Euro 2022 despite the season that followed being marred by anterior cruciate ligament injuries to Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema, Leah Williamson and Laura Wienroither. “The players did so much more than I could ever ask them for during that season,” he says. “That resonated with our supporters and people could identify with the team. They’re invested, in us, in the club, and that means that they also understand the situation that the team is in.”
Consistency is Eidevall’s goal. “The sky’s the limit for us,” says Eidevall. “But we’re in a massively more competitive environment, which means we need to run even faster because while we are doing these things well, so are our opponents.”
As much as losing players to injury brought the squad together, welcoming them back is deepening the bonds. Williamson was the latest to return, against Reading on Wednesday, since suffering her ACL injury.
“It was very nice. She’s worked very hard for that,” says Eidevall. “But I’m not emotional about it. I’m there to give support but also to keep the standards high. So I also need to say when things are not good enough and when we need to do things better and they need that as well.
“They want to return to be the best players they can be both for club and country, and that’s where I need to do my job. I allow myself very little time to feel those emotions. I need to coach.”
