FootyChatter.com

Arsenal are five points behind leaders Manchester City in the WSL Jonas Eidevall's decision to resign as Arsenal manager this week is the start of a new era at the club where they will look to plot a route back to the top. Once the powerhouse of English women's football, the Gunners have fallen behind their rivals Chelsea in the pursuit of domestic silverware. During Eidevall's three-year spell in charge, he helped develop professionalism off the pitch, but ultimately fell short of expectations and ambitions on it. He delivered two Women's League Cups and led Arsenal to a Women's Champions League semi-final, but Chelsea were able to wrap up a fifth successive league title during that time. Arsenal's task now is to address the issues that crept in under Eidevall's management and recruit a strong successor to catch up on their rivals. So what needs to change? When will the recruitment process start? And what are the club's priorities? Eidevall resigns as Arsenal head coach Are WSL clubs overlooking English female coaches? Arsenal's loyalty in Eidevall eventually backfired. Despite failing to progress from the qualifying rounds of the Women's Champions League last season, they handed him a new three-year deal in October 2023. That caused controversy and a failure to challenge for the WSL title and the FA Cup afterwards did not help the 41-year-old's case. It was compounded by Arsenal's decision not to offer record goalscorer Vivianne Miedema a contract extension in the summer after an apparent falling out with Eidevall - and she has thrived following her free transfer to rivals Manchester City. Inconsistent results and a tendency to start the season slowly has been harmful so Arsenal and Eidevall made it clear that needed to change in August. They went to the United States for pre-season to get the players ready for Women's Champions League qualifying and they progressed, though not convincingly. Poor results against Everton and Bayern Munich followed, as well as a draw with current WSL leaders City and defeat by Chelsea at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal had backed Eidevall in the transfer market, recruiting Sweden striker Rosa Kafaji among others, but he has overlooked her so far this season. Discontent had been growing among the fanbase and last weekend's 2-1 defeat by Chelsea was a tipping point. While Arsenal were not planning any immediate action, Eidevall felt he could no longer take the team forward and came to a quick decision. Arsenal assistant coach Renee Slegers is in interim charge and led training on Tuesday Arsenal's sporting director Edu was among those in attendance at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, watching on as they fell to a first league defeat after one win and two draws. He was joined by non-executive director Tim Lewis, who has followed the women's team closely. Edu is expected to play a role in recruiting Eidevall's successor, alongside Arsenal's director of women's football Clare Wheatley. Former Brazil international Edu has been praised for his player recruitment at the club on the men's side and there is an extensive, detailed process in place. Whether that approach will be taken to recruit the new women's head coach is unknown, but Arsenal say they have full confidence in Renee Slegers for the interim period and their process to find a replacement is already under way. Eidevall's decision to step away on his own terms was admired by Arsenal and it gives the club time after their games against Valerenga and West Ham this week to advance their search during the international break. They could also choose to line up a replacement for the new year, with the WSL season set to pause for a winter break from mid-December until mid-January. However, there are just 22 games in the WSL season and Arsenal have already played four. They will also have completed their group-stage campaign in the Women's Champions League by 18 December - so they cannot wait too long. The expectation of Arsenal's new manager will be simple - to deliver silverware. Eidevall helped build a clearer structure at Arsenal, increase staff members and push for the women to have access to better resources, so the foundations are there. The club have spent money in recent transfer windows, retained some of their biggest stars on new contracts and increased their wage bill. It means there is a squad packed full of talent and more than capable of winning the game's biggest prizes. Now Arsenal need a manager who can bring the pieces together and deliver a WSL title, as well as ensuring they are competing regularly in the Women's Champions League. The new boss will face scrutiny from a fanbase that has grown impatient with their lack of success, while rivals Chelsea have enjoyed plenty of it. Arsenal's new manager must deliver. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Tuchel 'very proud' to be named England manager Tuchel named new England manager - reaction & watch live stream Duckett's 50 helps England reach 88-1 at tea Kylie Minogue joins Annie and Nick as co-host What CDs can Kylie just not let go of and is Tik Tok changing the way songs are written? Is your money really safe? Investigating the stories of Revolut customers who have been scammed Why do prisons make such good settings for cinema? Ray Winstone talks about his breakout role as a borstal boy in the controversial, banned TV play Scum Cafe Terrace at Night by Vincent van Gogh Filmed at Kroller-Muller Museum, David Hockney appraises Cafe Terrace at Night Vote now for your BBC Women's Footballer of the Year All too familiar as England crumble when it matters most Is there a danger of F1 becoming the best rich drivers? Meet the nominees for BBC Women's Footballer of the Year. Video Meet the nominees for BBC Women's Footballer of the Year Harris 'Superman' touchdown leads best plays of NFL week six. Video Harris 'Superman' touchdown leads best plays of NFL week six 'I joked I'd give him £500 if he scored' - but did Trent experiment work? Shaw scores twice as Man City go top of WSL. Video Shaw scores twice as Man City go top of WSL Chepngetich breaks marathon world record. Video Chepngetich breaks marathon world record Terland scores stunner as Man Utd beat Spurs. Video Terland scores stunner as Man Utd beat Spurs 'Special talent' Williams shines in London Goosebumps in 40C - Scotland women's first World Cup England edge past Canada in decider to retain WXV1 title. Video England edge past Canada in decider to retain WXV1 title Zaltzman's alternative stats from the madness of Multan 'More late Scotland anguish as Clarke fights cynicism & scepticism' Are quadruple-winning Wigan now the greatest? Highlights: Wigan complete clean sweep with Grand Final victory. Video Highlights: Wigan complete clean sweep with Grand Final victory De la Fuente, Scaloni & Southgate - could England follow the trend? 'He could be the next great' - meet the 14-year-old international keeper 'I was wild and messed up - I don't want others to make same mistakes' Why was 'the greatest match' so great? © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.