Following the resignation of Jonas Eidevall earlier this week, Arsenal Ladies are on the hunt for a brand new coach. In our Arsenal Ladies Weekly Substack E-newsletter on Wednesday, I wrote about how Eidevall’s appointment in 2021 corrected a variety of the problems we noticed that led his predecessor Joe Montemurro to resign on the finish of the 2020-21 season.
However in correcting a few of these points in opposition to the larger opponents and taking part in successfully in opposition to a excessive press, a few of the strengths of Montemurro’s management- the liberty and fluidity of the assault and the power to beat the groups from the underside half of the desk comfortably- have been misplaced. A firmer taking part in id will probably be a giant a part of the following coach’s duty.
Underneath Eidevall, Arsenal have been very sturdy within the massive video games as a result of he was an excellent tactical micromanager from the dugout and robust in making ready in opposition to opponent’s strengths. He was good at making in-game changes and adapting his crew choices in accordance with the opponent. After the latest 2-2 draw with Manchester Metropolis, Eidevall spoke about how a lot he loves teaching within the larger video games.
‘In a recreation like this there are completely different phases and that’s a part of what makes a recreation like this so stimulating. I hope it’s stimulating as a participant, it’s actually stimulating as a coach…You might be always taking in info, making selections, understanding what a part of the sport plan we execute in the precise second, being good in communication and speaking issues in the precise option to the gamers. It’s a state of alertness.’
The problem was much more in video games the place there wasn’t a variety of tactical micromanagement mandatory, the place groups would sit eight gamers of their penalty space and invite Arsenal to interrupt them down. In these video games, you want a agency taking part in model and rules to interrupt groups down and Arsenal simply by no means fairly bought there underneath Jonas. If the brand new supervisor can mix the perfect qualities of Montemurro and Eidevall’s Arsenal groups, that may be a superb begin!
The brand new supervisor goes to must implement a firmer taking part in model for the gamers to fall again on. Within the humdrum of a league season, particularly when your ambition is to win the league, gamers want sturdy muscle reminiscence with regards to model and the brand new coach might want to have that of their again pocket. For a brand new coach, that is a beautiful job.
Not solely are you coping with the one girls’s crew on the planet that averages 30k for its residence matches however you’re going to get the chance to rebuild the crew in your individual picture. Eidevall took over a crew that was, broadly, in its mid 20s / early prime in 2021. Now the squad is basically in its late prime and which means a rebuild will fall underneath the tenure of the following coach.
Arsenal began their 2-1 WSL defeat to Chelsea on Saturday with six gamers within the beginning line-up who have been 28 or older. The typical age of the line-up was 27 years outdated and one of many three subs, Stina Blackstenius, was 28. The following coach will get the chance to construct the following iteration of the crew.
There has already been some futureproofing for the long-established midfield double pivot of Kim Little (34) and Lia Walti (31) with the arrivals of Kyra Cooney-Cross (22), Kathrine Kuhl (22) and Victoria Pelova (25) in latest seasons with 21-year-old Rosa Kafaji additionally added through the summer time. Whereas Pelova established herself as a agency fixture within the crew previous to her ACL harm, Kuhl and Cooney-Cross have needed to be a little bit extra affected person and Kafaji has been an unused sub within the final two video games.
There was a way of pressure between the long run and the current of the Arsenal midfield however the brand new coach will, sooner or later, must oversee that transition firmly. Generally that could be a good level to come back in as a coach, the in-between eras could be tough to handle whereas there may be some worth within the new particular person coming in understanding full effectively that they should wield the brand new broom inside their tenure.
I feel the USWNT had a comparable scenario just lately. In 2019, Vlatko Andonovski took over a squad in its late prime and needed to rigorously attempt to handle the transition away from the earlier star-studded squad with the likes of Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Becky Sauerbrunn ageing on his watch. Emma Hayes, who took over the reigns this summer time, has been capable of carry out a a lot cleaner break within the timeline and firmly construct the crew round burgeoning youthful expertise like Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Naomi Girma, who at the moment are able to take over the crew.
Arsenal’s 4 senior huge choices are presently represented by three 29-year-olds and a 28-year-old. Not at all is that glue manufacturing unit territory however Arsenal do have to have not less than one youthful huge possibility. Jonas Eidevall tried to facilitate that with the signing of Gio in the summertime of 2022 however that transfer fell by the wayside.
Integrating youthful expertise was not one thing Arsenal have been capable of do throughout Eidevall’s reign however, like I stated, he oversaw one thing of an ‘in-between’ period the place a variety of key gamers graduated from prime to late prime. That isn’t going to be the case for the brand new coach and overseeing each an injection of youth into the squad by means of the market and absolutely integrating youthful gamers like Cooney-Cross and Kafaji will probably be a part of the brand new coach’s in-tray.
The way forward for the crew won’t be coming tomorrow but when we assume the brand new coach will probably be in situ for a couple of years, not less than, it’s going to come underneath their watch. With that comes alternative, Head Coach of Arsenal Ladies is without doubt one of the most tasty positions in girls’s soccer in the intervening time. However with that comes a better stage of scrutiny than the overwhelming majority of girls’s soccer positions.
The truth that the phrases ‘JONAS OUT’ have been daubed in large letters on a wall near Emirates Stadium final week was one thing of a watershed second for ladies’s soccer, as disagreeable because it should have been for Eidevall himself. Arsenal’s shortcomings are held underneath a extra intense microscope than the overwhelming majority of European golf equipment.
Manchester Metropolis’s failure to win the WSL since 2016 and their late collapse in final season’s title race are barely remarked upon, for instance. The usual is excessive at Arsenal Ladies and has been for many years, the scrutiny is excessive however so too is the chance. Arsenal have been keen to smash the ladies’s switch report for Keira Walsh a month in the past, they’re effectively resourced and a rebuild is within the publish. It’s a plumb job for an formidable coach however it’s additionally an appointment that Arsenal actually need to get proper.
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