Jonas Eidevall has been appointed as Arsenal’s new head coach. The 38-year-old Swede is Joe Montemurro’s successor and joins the Women’s Super League side from Rosengard.
Eidevall told Arsenal’s official website: “I feel honoured to be taking this role. Arsenal have a rich history, more successful than any other women’s team in England. I want to add to these honours. It’s super important that we win, and we will be very ambitious about that, but it’s even more important that we live the values and defend the club badge on a day-to-day basis. I cannot wait to do that at Arsenal.”
Eidevall managed men’s side Lunds BK before joining Rosengard and thereby making a move to women’s football, where he was assistant and then head coach, and guided them to winning back-to-back Swedish league titles in 2013 and 2014.
He later had a short spell as Henrik Larsson’s assistant at Helsingborg. He then returned to Rosengard and guided them to a Swedish Cup triumph in 2018 and another Swedish league title in 2019. The team managed to reach the quarter-finals of last season’s Champions League despite being regarded as the underdogs.
Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said “Jonas was the standout candidate of everybody that we considered for this role and we think he’s going to be a great fit to be the head coach of Arsenal Women. It was important that we found the right person to represent our club, both on the pitch and off the pitch. As for his coaching style, he will bring the style of football that Arsenal fans want to see. He’s someone who likes to play on the front foot, high-tempo, attractive, attacking football.”
“The thing that really came out in all of our interactions with Jonas is how much he wanted to join Arsenal and his desire to be part of this club, his desire to be part of our future and to help us deliver our ambitions going forward. So we’re delighted that he’s joining us.”
At the end of the 2020-21 season, Montemurro stepped down from the job he had been in since November 2017, with Arsenal finishing third in the Women’s Super League and successfully a return to the Champions League.
The Australian’s tenure included the team winning the WSL in 2019, their first league title since 2012, and the League Cup in 2018. Montemurro has since taken charge of Juventus’ women’s side.
