Arsenal have appointed Renee Slegers as the permanent successor to Jonas Eidevall after a highly successful spell as interim head coach.
Slegers, who was appointed on an interim basis, oversaw 10 wins in 11 matches in a three-month unbeaten run as Arsenal rose from fifth to third in the WSL and secured automatic Champions League qualification.
The 35-year-old Dutch player has signed a contract until the end of the 2025-26 season.
Eidevall resigned in mid-October after three years in office. The decision came after a defeat to Chelsea, with Arsenal having won just one of their opening four games in the Women's Super League.
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Highlights from the Women's Super League match between Liverpool and Arsenal
Slegers is a former Dutch international midfielder and has been part of Arsenal's backroom since 2023 following a two-year spell at Rosengard, where they won back-to-back Swedish league titles in 2021 and 2022.
“I am so excited to continue our journey together,” Slegers said. “It is a great honor to represent this club as head coach and I believe so much in what we can achieve together.
“Over the past few months I have felt such a strong sense of collective ownership and responsibility amongst our players and staff – that has been our strength and I know we will make sure we drive and nurture this feeling as we all move forward.
“It meant the world to me to feel the closeness and passion of our fans during this process, and I want to thank you all for that. We want to deliver something beautiful that is inspiring and leads to winning trophies. We all have a big part to play in achieving that.”
Slegers, who earned 55 caps for the Netherlands before retiring in 2016, spent time in Arsenal's youth academy between 2006 and 2007 and also represented Dutch side Willem II and Sweden's Djurgardens and Linkoping.
Arsenal are flying under boss Renee Slegers
Arsenal's director of women's football Clare Wheatley added: “We are delighted to appoint Renée as our permanent head coach. Renée has excelled during her time as interim head coach, bringing our team, club and fans together and leading us to a hugely impressive run of results and performance.
“We have launched a thorough recruitment process with the aim of identifying the best candidate to lead our women's first team at this exciting time. Renée has been a standout candidate throughout the process and we are delighted to continue our journey with her as our permanent head coach.
“Renée understands the values and ambitions of our club, having represented Arsenal both as a young player and now as a coach. We have every confidence that she is the best person to lead us forward as we compete for trophies this season and beyond.”
Arsenal play Crystal Palace at Meadow Park on Sunday with the chance to move above Manchester City into second place in the WSL table.
Slegers was Arsenal's safe arm – she deserves her shot
Sky Sports' Laura Hunter:
It has been 94 days since Jonas Eidevall left Arsenal. The Gunners have played 11 games since that gloomy October day, winning 10 and drawing one. The increase is emphasized, both in results and performance, and Renee Slegers is responsible.
A number of managers from around the world have been considered for the permanent position at Arsenal, but none with such a convincing record in the hot seat. Slegers was a candidate who had already been in – an obvious advantage – but her degree as interim chief was no less deserved.
The Dutchman has been branded a replacement by some, including this journalist, but such praise is deserved for the results obtained the 'Arsenal way', and an impressive display of strength to completely break away from adversity.
Simply, she was the steady hand of the club
Read the full article on Arsenal's turnaround under Slegers.