Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall has been causing a stir since his first day on the job with his passionate celebrations, animated sideline outbursts and tactical mind games.
If you don’t know the Swedish manager you are missing out as he is one of the greatest characters in English football. The Women’s Super League needs personalities and, for better or worse, Eidevall is a box office.
Last week, Arsenal were in the closing seconds of the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich and led 2-1.
Eidevall’s anger at the number of fouls from the German side had been bubbling up for 90 minutes, but Georgia Stanway’s late tackle on Lia Walti was the last straw.
He ran out of his technical room, arms in the air. His assistant Patrick Winqvist saw the danger, chased his colleague and tried – with limited success – to push him back. Eidevall was booked, not for the first time and probably not for the last. He is no different from Mikel Arteta in the way he jumps up and down the sidelines
Arsenal Women boss Jonas Eidevall is the box-office manager the Women’s Super League needs
Eidevall, 40, is in his second season with Arsenal but set the tone in his first game as they beat Chelsea 3-2. When the final whistle blew, he dropped to his knees and slapped the air with both hands.
It was an image that Chelsea used as motivation in subsequent matches that season. They had the last laugh and won the competition on the last day. A number of players imitated Eidevall’s pose as they celebrated with the trophy.
Emma Hayes was clearly annoyed by Eidevall’s actions that day. The Swede is more than a match for the Chelsea manager and when the two go head-to-head it’s fire against fire.
Hayes always tries to play down Chelsea’s rivalry with Arsenal, but there is a clear and burning tension between the red and blue corners of London. It was evident in Hayes’ dig at Arsenal as they beat Chelsea in February’s League Cup final.
Sportsmail’s women’s football correspondent, Kathryn Batte, now has a weekly column covering the hottest topics
It was the Gunners’ first trophy in four years and Hayes, a West London serial trophy winner, made multiple mentions of their lack of silverware.
“We’ve won so much over the years and they’ve won very little,” she said.
“The difference was between ‘a team that won a lot and a team that didn’t win a lot, you can’t concede three goals against a team that didn’t win a lot.’
It was the first final Hayes had lost to Eidevall and she clearly didn’t take it well.
In December 2021, Chelsea had comfortably beaten Arsenal 3–0 in the postponed FA Cup final. Before the game, Eidevall had casually remarked that he was afraid of black cats crossing his path.
The two teams hadn’t played each other since Eidevall’s opening day celebrations and Hayes made sure she had a good time.
In her post-match interview, she said, “I thought we were just purring,” before making cat noises. But it’s not just Hayes who has wrong-footed Eidevall.
Last week he even managed to annoy Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor, possibly the least hostile man in football.
Eidevall claimed that Arsenal “are not like Manchester City, who rely on the same player to score their goals.” Taylor called his comments “strange.”
Eidevall irritates rivals with his passionate partying – ruffled feathers is nothing new to him
The Swede is getting results though, so his antics aren’t backfiring on him at the moment
Arsenal are in the WSL title race and are in the Women’s Champions League semi-finals
Perhaps what sets Eidevall apart is that he is so different from everyone else in the WSL.
He gets under people’s skin – you love him or you hate him. He is the opposite of his predecessor Joe Montemurro, who was jovial at press conferences. Occasionally he would be animated – but not every week like Eidevall.
There was a game where Arsenal scored against Chelsea and Montemurro started to run out of his technical room but stopped himself. With Eidevall there is no stopping.
His antics can sometimes backfire, but for now, Eidevall is getting results.
Women’s football needs personalities and eyes on the game – it’s hard to look away when Eidevall is around.
Maanum’s goal went viral… her patience was rewarded
Frida Maanum’s sensational goal against Bayern Munich, described as ‘beautiful’ by Mikel Arteta, has now been viewed more than four million times on DAZN’s Twitter account. Maanum followed up with a crucial equalizer against Manchester City on Sunday.
The midfielder may be well known in her native Norway, but her potential is only just being realized here.
With Vivianne Miedema missing since December with an ACL injury, Maanum has taken a step. But in reality, the Norwegian looked superior before that.
The 23-year-old was signed by the Gunners last season but was on and off the team for much of her freshman year.
A Norwegian journalist attended one of Arsenal’s final matches of the campaign to specifically ask Jonas Eidevall why she was not playing. He explained that she had to be patient and adapt to the level required in the WSL.
Fast forward a year and Maanum is indispensable. She is the unsung hero of this Arsenal team and has been arguably their best player this season.
Frida Maanum (right) had to be patient at Arsenal, but is now blossoming into a starring role for them
Proof that Europe MUST improve
The level of the referees in the quarter-finals of Arsenal and Chelsea in the Champions League left much to be desired.
Marta Huerta de Aza failed to give a free kick as Arsenal captain Kim Little was brought down by Bayern Munich’s Sarah Zadrazil, a tackle that forced the midfielder out with an injury.
At Stamford Bridge, Ivana Martincic broke the rules by not stopping the game as Chelsea midfielder Melanie Leupolz went down with a head injury. Martincic only stopped playing when blood streamed down Leupolz’s face, who had suffered a broken nose.
After that, it was a ridiculous wait for Maren Mjelde to take Chelsea’s last-minute penalty in extra time. The referee struggled to explain to players that they had to step off the box as it was the last kick of the match.
The referees in the Champions League are said to be the best the women’s game has to offer. But is anyone convinced after seeing those performances last week?
The handling of Chelsea star Melanie Leupolz’s head injury showed a problem with officials
England World Cup watch
Doing well: Lotte Wubben-Moy
The Arsenal defender originally missed out on selection for the upcoming Lionesses camp but was called up when Millie Bright was forced to pull out due to injury.
Wubben-Moy has struggled for playing time at Arsenal this season, but Kim Little’s injury took her off the bench against Bayern Munich and the defender responded confidently.
Could be better: Lauren hemp
The Manchester City winger is battling with Lauren James and Chloe Kelly for a starting spot in Sarina Wiegman’s squad, but missed two golden chances against Arsenal this weekend.
Hemp hasn’t quite reached the pinnacle of last season and her miss from five yards out may have shown a lack of confidence.