Former Arsenal Women boss Jonas Eidevall says that the decision not to renew Vivianne Miedema’s contract at the end of last season was one of the key drivers behind his resignation in October. The Swede, who was yesterday confirmed as the new Head Coach of San Diego Wave, acknowledges that the decision not to extend Miedema’s deal and to allow her to move to Manchester City on a free transfer broke his relationship with the supporters which created ‘a cloud’ over the team.
Eidevall spoke to Aftonbladet, as well as Sky Sports and Sports Illustrated. Aftonbladet’s Frida Fagerlund, who spoke to Jonas, kindly translated the interview for us.
‘What I experienced was that my relationship with the supporters was so bad after we let Vivianne Miedema leave and there was no quick fix,’ Eidevall said. ‘I felt like there was a cloud hanging over us. If it had just been hanging over me, then I would have been fine. No worries.
‘But if it becomes a narrative that affects the team, then the team’s performance in the first half of the season will not benefit. Then we needed to find a way to get rid of the cloud and the easiest way was for me to leave.’
Eidevall says there was a simple economic decision to make when the opportunity to sign Mariona Caldentey from Barcelona arose, ‘You have a limited budget that you have to deal with and we had the opportunity to sign Mariona Caldentey or extend Vivianne Miedema’s contract, then you have to choose either or. But it’s not a decision that you then stand at a press conference and talk about and say “we had to choose between two players”. The reality is that we couldn’t afford both. Then I have to make a decision about what I think is best for the club.’
Eidevall admits that he underestimated the pushback over the decision, ‘I usually think that I am good at predicting the consequences of a decision, but I have to be honest and say that I didn’t see that coming. But I would still have made the same decision, I am convinced that Caldentey will continue to be a huge asset for Arsenal. I have never had any problems working with Miedema. She is a strong personality and will always speak her mind, which is similar to me as a person. It was a decision that was made on purely sporting grounds.’
Eidevall also says the lack of a Sporting Director at Arsenal Women impacted him, ‘At Arsenal, we had 37 employees when I left. 27-28 players in the squad. One of the parts that I found draining, and another reason of me leaving, was the lack of a sports director to work with daily.
‘I almost found it overwhelming to deal with so many people on a daily basis. I felt like I lacked time to be anything else but business. Whenever I spoke to anyone at Arsenal, it was because I had an agenda. I had zero conversations that were just “how are you?” It made me feel some kind of small void.’
The Swede brought current interim manager Renee Slegers to the club in the summer of 2023 having worked with her at Rosengard and Eidevall endorsed her candidacy for the permanent job. ‘I find Renée to be a great leader. She’s got good values, strong football knowledge and it makes me very happy to see the good results and performance that she, the team and the coaching team have put together and I really hope that people see the opportunity for them to continue. I think that would be the best thing for the club.’
Eidevall also spoke about his strained relationship with former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes and his disappointment over her behaviour and comments following the Gunners’ Conti Cup Final victory over Chelsea in March when Hayes pushed the Arsenal manager away as he offered his hand at the final whistle.
Chelsea had vetoed Arsenal’s preference for a multi ball system in the final but when the ball went out for a throw-in during stoppage time, Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert tried to restart play with an extra ball. Eidevall objected and Hayes afterwards accused the Swede of showing ‘male aggression’ in the technical area.
‘The reaction after the match when she gives me a little push, that was a non-event for me. I can live with that. I understand those who say that if it had been the other way around, what would have happened to me then? But that is so far from my reality, I would never have done that. So I put that aside.
‘However, the comments after the match, when the adrenaline had subsided, I was very disappointed. Very disappointed. And I am also very disappointed that she was not able to send a message or make a call and say that it went wrong. Then we can go from having a good relationship to having no relationship. I won’t be the one to reach out either because I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong in the situation.’
Arsenal are yet to appoint a full-time successor for Jonas Eidevall with Slegers remaining in Interim charge for the time being. Our understanding is that the process is set to draw to a conclusion soon, with many candidates interviewed, including Slegers. Sources are very tight lipped on what the ultimate conclusion will be.
With thanks to Frida Fagerlund for the full translation.
Very interesting interview. Right behind Jonas regarding the Emma Hayes situation, I lost a lot of respect for her after that nonsense. Also I am very disappointed in the club if they are not providing a proper support setup for the head coach. That needs to change. However, something doesn’t add up about the Miedema story. I could be wrong, but I don’t think the backlash about Miedema’s departure was focused on the *players* as well as the club/manager, which is what he seems to be saying. Plus how come we subsequently had so much money to offer Barca for… Read more »
I doubt it’s literal in economic terms, I think essentially he means if you buy Mariona, there’s basically no place for Miedema in the team and it doesn’t make sense to pay the sort of salary Miedema earns for a sub or rotation player.
Okay, fair enough, but Mariona and Miedema don’t play the same position. Russo and Mariona play together, after all.
Yes, I think it’s basically a bit of a sop for saying Miedema just didn’t fit into his team any longer. Which I think we could all see with our eyes anyway.
Maybe he could also see that Viv was more injury prone following her ACL? She is still not the real 100% Viv even after all of this time but, of course, he can not come out and say that.
Doubtful that JE could predict anything about future injuries to Viv *12 months ago*, which was when they decided to part ways.
Yup.
Miedema was our highest earner. It’s almost certainly actual economic issues.
But then the squad and the wage bill got bigger and they made a £1m bid for Keira Walsh. Honestly, I think this is just a way of saying the cost of keeping Miedema versus what her role in the team would have been would not have added up.
The team has been doing a lot better since he left. Good luck Jonas, hope this becomes a win-win.
Forgot to add – thanks to JE for the generous and entirely accurate comments about Renée Slegers.
It’s Frida Fagerlund, not Fangelund. 😉
Who are involved in the recruitment process for the new manager? That’s a concern for me.
Clare Wheatley, Jason Ayto and I believe James Ellis. Richard Garlick will have some kind of oversight role too I would think.
Sorry to say, but Clare doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Hopefully, she gets it right, though.
I keep hearing/reading this sort of thing, but what’s it based on? I’m not saying you’re wrong, just that I don’t know why fans are so down on her in particular.
Can’t wait for the announcement. Fingers crossed that it’s Renée!
Will it be this week, before the Bristol City match, do you know?
It won’t but I am expecting an announcement before the Palace game. Renee is taking the game on Sunday.
in your opinion do you think it could be Renée? Any incline who it might be? If the process is close to a conclusion does that mean they’ve made a decision who they going to appoint. If so why the hold up in announcing it? Could it be because everything has to be finalised like contracts and terms etc?
Gah! Thanks anyway for replying.
I don’t mean to stick the knife in, but letting Miedema’s contract down was a sackable offence for me =(.
As others have said, I think there is more behind the Viv decision. I watched her at Meadow Park where you are closer to the physical aspects of the game. Going for a close-fought challenge, there just seemed to be a lack of sharpness and a loss of pace. Those who worked with her every day at London Colney would have had a deeper knowledge. I do suspect this might have influenced the decision. Her performances at City haven’t caused me to lose these suspicions. However, for Viv’s and the Netherlands’ sake, I’d be happy to be proved wrong.
This interview raises more than just a few eyebrows. The lack of Director of Football being a key one meaning Jonas was carrying the can/taking the heat for all the teams decisions, not only amongst the players but from the fans also. Yes he ultimately choose to let Miedema go after being told he can’t have both her and Mariona so he’s not completely blameless and of course he left due to poor results of his own doing feeling he didn’t have enough goodwill in the bank to ride out the bad form. From a footballing perspective you could argue… Read more »
For me, as many may remember from my previous comments, Jonas lost it with me when Viv was “allowed” to leave. Not that long before her ACL Viv was probably among the top three strikers in the world and with a little more care/recovery would have scored goals again. That said I am not sorry we have Mariona or Russo or Stina or that they play at the same time and that may be another pointer to Jonas’s tactical prowess or lack of it. Finally I do not not believe the afford excuse, he is covering his unprotected and wounded… Read more »
Jonas doesn’t seem to accept any responsibility for the team’s shocking start to the season. But the reality is that he introduced a new system of play, very common in the men’s game, which the team weren’t happy playing. It stifled their creativity and the faster pace the team were used to. The Miedema situation didn’t help. Her record speaks for itself. The fans loved her and Viv loved the Arsenal. When Renée Slegers had the team go back to the previous style. The players were again playing with smiles on their faces. Eidevall only has himself to blame. Come… Read more »
I really hope Renée is given the permanent position. She has smiles back on faces and the uptick in form has been sustained. It’s beyond a new manager bounce now.
She clearly has the good will of the supporters, knows the club, plays a good style of football and she has won a league title as a manager before.
If they appoint someone else and it goes horribly wrong the decision not to retain her will look incredibly stupid.