Arsenal Enter the Renéesance!

Photo Credits: Getty Images

After an extended period of deliberation, it was finally announced that Renée Slegers has secured the role of Arsenal Women’s head coach. After a disappointing start to the season for the Gunners leading to Jonas Eidevall resigning from the top role in mid-October, the head coach position was filled in the interim by Slegers herself, though there was significant speculation as to whether or not she would get the permanent position.

Many names were in contention alongside Slegers’ own, including Casey Stoney (who has now been appointed as the manager of the Canadian international team), Republic of Ireland’s new coach Carla Ward, Kelly Smith – Lionesses legend, who is on the current Arsenal coaching staff -, former Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate, former Manchester City manager Nick Cushing and former Australian International team (The Matildas) manager Toney Gustavsson. Though all of these would have brought their own benefits to the Arsenal squad, it was clear that Slegers was a brilliant fit for the job.

In her time as interim manager between October and December, she led the team in an unbeaten streak including a 5-2 win over Bayern Munich, whom they had lost against mere months ago under Eidevall’s management, leading them to top their Champions’ League group. She led with security and confidence, leaving players such as Beth Mead and Steph Catley to sing her praises, with Mead saying, “she’s just given us all a bit of confidence, a bit of freedom”, and Catley commenting that “she brings a lot of positive energy and is a really good communicator. She has been incredible”. This clearly highlights the players to have been supportive of Slegers even before her position was made permanent, demonstrating a clear difference between the team’s attitude between now and when Eidevall was in charge of the Arsenal side at the start of this season. The manager and former Dutch international managed to take the struggling team from a shocking 6th on the WSL table, now up to 2nd after their win against Crystal Palace last weekend.

Under Eidevall, the team only managed to score 17 goals in the 9 matches played between the 4th of September and the 15th of October when he resigned, losing an astonishing three times and drawing twice. Considering the funding and backing behind the team, this number of losses in such a brief period led many to call for Eidevall’s resignation. After he resigned on the 15th of October, he stated in an interview with Sky Sports that he’d “lost a lot of [his] relationship with the supporters” after not renewing Vivianne Miedema’s contract. Losing a much loved, long-term player like Miedema had a significant impact on the fans, leaving many outraged at the decision for her contract to not be renewed at the end of last season.

On the other hand, Slegers has received an outpouring of support from the Arsenal fan base, with some referring to her management of the team as the ‘Renéesance’. Since Slegers’ takeover, the team seems much more cohesive, working significantly better together and in her brief period of time in charge of the team they have achieved an average of 3 goals per match (in only 12 matches across all competitions) in comparison to an average of 1.8 goals per match during the closing period of Eidevall’s management. This statistic alone sets the two managers apart and highlights Arsenal’s excellence under Slegers’ instruction.

A prime example of the success of the team is that of Alessia Russo. Between the 22nd of September and the 21st of November, she scored only 4 goals. However, after the international break, she turned this statistic around and has obtained an average of 0.9 goals per match under Slegers and has even scored in six consecutive WSL matches – only the fourth Arsenal player to do so. Although this is the success of only one member of the team, Russo’s progression certainly exemplifies the impact that Renée Slegers has had on this Arsenal side since stepping into the head coach role.  

Slegers herself - in a video released from Arsenal – has said that she is “looking forward to it [managing the team]” and that as a team she wants to “drive change, go to the next level, step by step, 1% every day.” Great things are certainly to be expected from the team for the rest of this season and it will be interesting to see the outcome of their match against Chelsea this weekend, considering their previous fixture against the club was the last match that they played under Jonas Eidevall where they lost 2-1.

It certainly seems as if the Gunners are in great form, sitting on an undefeated streak of twelve matches. However, the question remains: will the Renéesance continue to bring prosperity for the Gunners for the rest of the season?