Arsenal had lost identity under Eidevall but face tough test to find better

The chorus of boos that rang around the Emirates Stadium after Chelsea took a fourth-minute lead against Arsenal on Saturday was evidence of a clear shift in the Women’s Super League. The dynamic between clubs and their fans is changing. Supporter power is on the rise.

Perhaps it is no surprise, then, that merely 48 hours after a mock P45 with Jonas Eidevall’s name on was held up among the crowd in north London, the Arsenal head coach was gone. A growing bounty of scrutiny has no doubt played its part.

Arsenal have only won one of their opening four WSL games and are the joint-third lowest scorers, their poorest points return at this stage of a campaign since 2014. They are sixth in the table and already five points adrift of Manchester City at the summit.

Yet murmurings from those within Arsenal’s walls remained upbeat about Eidevall’s future – they maintained he was the guy to turn this slump around. But externally there was a foreboding feeling about Arsenal’s latest expose.

Their sloppy start against Chelsea, conceding twice inside the opening 16 minutes at their Emirates home, was indicative of a team that lacks structure and discipline. Confidence drained from the stands as quickly as it did the players. Arsenal were poor in transition, chaotic in both boxes, and unforgivingly wasteful in front of goal – a microcosm of their season.

Eidevall is the type of character who is a deep, analytical thinker, and he would have been especially hurt by what he saw on Saturday. Not only were his side woeful – at least for the first half – but he had also seemingly lost the support of a crowd he has worked tirelessly to cultivate over the past three-and-a-bit years.

The Swedish head coach has played a huge part in the biggest off-pitch transformation Arsenal – or any WSL club – has ever witnessed. And that comes with a tighter pressure grip than usual. Fans turn up to the Emirates expecting to be entertained, and demanding to win.

Neither of those boxes have been checked this season and signs of a quick fix were not forthcoming. Most of the hallmarks of textbook Arsenal – energy, urgency, tempo possession, high turnovers, high risk – have been lost. From a combined xG total of 7.16 this season, Arsenal have only scored four times, the worst ratio in the WSL.

Frustration had been bubbling beneath a rocky surface in N5 for some time, and doubt cast on Eidevall’s future well before news of his departure broke on Tuesday.

Sky Sports pundit Izzy Christiansen summed up the situation neatly: “Now we are in an era of the game where there is new and different pressures on managers. Arsenal is probably the highest profile club in the WSL right now, in terms of commercialisation, attendances and everything they do off the pitch to increase visibility. What comes with that is great pressure.”

And therefore, in some ways, Eidevall has been a victim of Arsenal’s own success. The club has grown to such an extent that underwhelming performances and poor results simply will not be tolerated. Crowds of 45,000 tend to be far less inhibited than the three or four thousand they used to average at Meadow Park.

A lack of silverware did not help either. Eidevall joined Arsenal in 2021 and led his side to two League Cup titles as well as a Champions League semi-final in 2022-23. It was the first time in 10 years the Gunners had reached that stage of Europe’s elite club competition, and was rightly viewed as a triumph.

But progress since then – despite spending big in the transfer market on world-class talent – has stagnated.

Ultimately, this Arsenal squad is far too gifted to be struggling this much. Their underperformance at both ends of the pitch was evident for all to see against Chelsea on Saturday, prompting the call from fans for fresh ideas.

Given the fact Eidevall has made a proactive decision to step down, it is fair to surmise he feels the same way. Good leadership is about knowing limits – Eidevall had unfortunately reached his.

Important, too, that action is taken before Arsenal’s season is effectively over. Losing 5-2 to Bayern Munich was a disastrous start to a European campaign, only adding to the general air of malaise around WSL performance.

All the while, new levels are being set elsewhere.

Chelsea have been faultless under new boss Sonia Bompastor. Manchester City have already blown powerhouse Barcelona away in Europe – a remarkable statement of intent. Manchester United might even be back in the title hunt.

Arsenal simply cannot afford for too much ground to be swallowed by rivals. Eidevall’s decision may feel premature in the context of the season, but allowing direct challengers to gain too big of a jump would be fatal. And the climb already looks pretty steep.