Arsenal have appointed interim boss Renee Slegers as their new permanent manager until 2026, ending a three-month search.
former manager Jonas Eidevall resigned in October and has since taken over the San Diego Wave in the NWSL. Slegers has been acting as interim since the start and his surge in form under the Dutchman places the Gunners third in the table. WSL table, seven points behind the leaders Chelsea.
arsenal they have won 10 of their 11 games with Slegers so far, drawing just once against Manchester United in that time. The impressive turnaround also meant they were ranked first Champions League group ahead of Bayern Munich, having beaten the German giants 3-2 before Christmas.
here, 90 minutes I’ve taken a look at five things to know about Arsenal’s head coach as the club enters a new era…
The manager’s journey with Arsenal did not start in September 2023 when he joined as Eidevall’s assistant. He was actually on the club’s books as a 17-year-old between 2006 and 2007.
He lived and studied at Oaklands College in Hertfordshire, which is the club’s main higher education provider. Slegers worked with both Alex Scott and Kelly Smith during his early days in London and has always spoken fondly of his time at the academy.
Nor is it the first time that Slegers has replaced Eidevall in the managerial dugout. Before joining Arsenal, she worked in Sweden with FC Rosengard, initially as their B team coach.
In June 2021, he took charge of his first team following Eidevall’s departure to join Arsenal. He led the team to back-to-back Damallsvenskan titles in both 2021 and 2022 before stepping down in April 2023.
The Arsenal boss was just 29 when she called time on her playing career. He won 55 caps in total for his national team, but his last appearance was in November 2016 when he was just 27 years old.
In a friendly against England, she suffered a serious injury that caused her to miss the 2017 European Championship, which the Netherlands hosted and won. After more than a year on the sidelines, he announced his retirement in February 2018.
Arsenal’s incredible run of results under Slegers would not have been possible without the players committing to his methods. The team has spoken highly of the 35-year-old since October and, without a doubt, his performances on the pitch have borne that out.
In October, Beth Mead described Slegers’ leadership as a “breath of fresh air” when asked if the team would like him to take over on a permanent basis. While they were careful not to speak out while the recruiting process was underway, the team’s mood and optimism in recent months has been palpable.
Let’s keep creating something together 💪 pic.twitter.com/Pn230AtOCE
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) January 17, 2025
Results have certainly gone Arsenal and Slegers’ way since he took over, but the dynamic will change slightly now that he is in charge permanently. He stressed that they must continue to build on everything they have been doing well so far to ensure that consistency is maintained.
Slegers said in one interview with Ian Wright: “It’s going to be really important to me that nothing changes because I think what’s made us so strong is collective ownership. So I’m not going to change, girls shouldn’t change, nobody should change because we really do things. good for now.”
