Arsenal name Slegers head coach on permanent basis

Renee Slegers' permanent appointment comes 94 days after Jonas Eidevall resigned as Arsenal manager

Arsenal have appointed Renee Slegers as head coach on a permanent basis after an impressive spell as interim boss.

The 35-year-old Dutchwoman was placed in temporary charge of the Gunners after Jonas Eidevall resigned in October following a poor start to their Women's Super League (WSL) campaign.

Arsenal have since won 10 and drawn one of their games under the former Netherlands midfielder, scoring 31 goals and conceding just five. Five consecutive wins in the Women's Champions League meant Arsenal qualified for the quarter-finals as Group C winners.

Slegers has signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with the Gunners until the end of the 2025-26 season.

"I'm so excited to be continuing our journey together," said Slegers. "It's a wonderful honour to represent this club as head coach and I have so much belief in what we can all achieve together.

"Over the past few months I've felt such a powerful sense of collective ownership and responsibility across 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."

Arsenal's director of women's football Clare Wheatley said Slegers was "the standout candidate" during a recruitment process which lasted almost three months.

"Renee understands the values and ambitions of our club," she said. "We have every confidence that she is the best person to take us forward as we compete for trophies this season and beyond."

Former Manchester City manager Nick Cushing was linked with the job, but effectively ruled himself out in November when he said he expected to remain as head coach of New York City FC.

Who is Renee Slegers?

Former Netherlands international Slegers joined Arsenal as Eidevall's assistant in September 2023.

The pair were reunited after working together at Swedish side Rosengard, before Slegers succeeded Eidevall at the club in June 2021, going on to lead them to back-to-back titles.

Before joining Rosengard, Slegers was in charge of fellow Malmo-based club Limhamn Bunkeflo, having initially coached their under-19s, and was subsequently hired as Sweden Under-23s head coach.

Born in the small town of Someren-Eind, in the south of the Netherlands, Slegers played for local side SSE.

She spent time in the Arsenal academy when she was 17, before returning to her native Netherlands to begin her senior career with Willem II.

Slegers played for Willem from 2007 until 2011 when they folded, making her Netherlands debut against Russia in March 2009.

She was part of the Netherlands team which reached the semi-finals of Euro 2009 and would go on to make 55 appearances for her country, scoring 15 goals.

Slegers went on to play for Swedish sides Djurgardens and Linkoping before a serious knee injury ended her career in 2018.

Slegers joined Eidevall's coaching staff at Arsenal in 2023

Slegers appointment felt inevitable

It felt a matter of when, and not if, Arsenal would confirm Slegers as permanent manager.

The Dutchwoman's record as interim boss has been impressive and she looked at home in the role.

Arsenal took their time in making a decision because they felt so comfortable with Slegers as interim that they knew the team was in good hands while they carried out a managerial search.

They also knew it was a significant period and they needed to make the right choice - Chelsea and Manchester City continue to invest and are growing stronger each season, while Arsenal have fallen short.

It ended up being an extended audition from Slegers and her pedigree grew, putting herself in the spotlight as one of the leading candidates, while Arsenal cast the net out in their search.

Former City boss Cushing was on their list but he seemed to rule himself out of contention, while ex-Manchester United head coach Casey Stoney - named Canada manager this week - was quickly dismissed as an option.

In the end there were few candidates who could compete with Slegers, and her appointment is likely to receive widespread support from Arsenal's fanbase given the turnaround in form she has overseen this season.