KATHRYN BATTE: Eidevall is the box-office boss women's football needs
KATHRYN BATTE: With his passion on the touchline and digs at rivals, Jonas Eidevall is the box-office boss women’s football needs. His antics may backfire on occasion, but right now the Swede is getting results
- Women’s football needs personalities and few come bigger than Jonas Eidevall
- The Arsenal boss irks rivals as he is animated and passionate in his celebrations
- Those celebrations may backfire but right now he and the Gunners get results
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall has been ruffling feathers since his first day on the job with his passionate celebrations, animated touchline outbursts and tactical mind games.
If you are not familiar with the Swedish manager then you are missing out, for he is one of the biggest characters in English football. The Women’s Super League needs personalities and, for better or worse, Eidevall is box office.
Just last week Arsenal were in the final seconds of their Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich and were leading 2-1 on aggregate.
Eidevall’s anger at the number of fouls from the German side had been bubbling for 90 minutes but Georgia Stanway’s late tackle on Lia Walti was the final straw.
He raced out of his technical area, arms in the air. His assistant Patrick Winqvist saw the danger, chased after his colleague and tried to push him back – with limited success. Eidevall was booked, not for the first time and probably not for the last. He is not dissimilar to Mikel Arteta in the way he jumps up and down on the touchline
Arsenal Women boss Jonas Eidevall is the box-office manager Women’s Super League needs
Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall gets dragged back by his assistant Patrick Winqvist 😂 #Arsenal #UWCL
Eidevall, 40, is in his second season with Arsenal but set the tone in his first game in charge as they beat Chelsea 3-2. When the final whistle went, he dropped to his knees and punched the air with both hands.
It was an image Chelsea used as motivation in subsequent games that season. They had the last laugh, winning the league on the final day. A number of players imitated Eidevall’s pose as they celebrated with the trophy.
Emma Hayes was clearly irked by Eidevall’s actions that day. The Swede is more than a match for the Chelsea manager and when the two go up against each other it is fire versus fire.
Hayes always attempts 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 when they beat Chelsea in February’s League Cup final.
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It was the Gunners’ first trophy for four years and Hayes, a serial trophy winner in west London, made multiple mentions of their lack of silverware.
‘We’ve won so much in recent years and they’ve won very little,’ she said.
‘The difference was between ~ a team that has won a lot and a team that hasn’t, you can’t concede three goals against a team that haven’t won a lot.’
It was the first final Hayes had lost to Eidevall and, clearly, she did not take it well.
In December 2021, Chelsea had comprehensively beaten Arsenal 3-0 in the delayed FA Cup final. Before the game, Eidevall had made a passing comment of having a fear of letting black cats cross his path.
The two teams had not played each other since Eidevall’s opening-day celebration and Hayes made sure she enjoyed herself.
In her post-match interview she said: ‘I thought we were simply purring,’ before going on to make cat noises. But it is not just Hayes who Eidevall has rubbed up the wrong way.
Last week he even managed to annoy Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor, possibly the least antagonistic man in football.
Eidevall claimed Arsenal are ‘not like Manchester City, who rely on the same player to score their goals’. Taylor called his remarks ‘strange’.
Eidevall irks rivals with his passionate celebrations – ruffling feathers is not new for him
The Swede is getting results, though, and so his antics are not currently backfiring on him
Arsenal are in the WSL title race and are in the semi-finals of the women’s Champions League
Perhaps what makes Eidevall stand out is that he is so different to everyone else in the WSL.
He gets under people’s skin – you love him or hate him. He is the opposite of his predecessor Joe Montemurro, who was jovial in press conferences. On occasions, he would get animated – but not every week like Eidevall.
There was a game when Arsenal scored against Chelsea and Montemurro started to run out of his technical area but stopped himself. With Eidevall, there is no stopping.
His antics may backfire on occasions, but right now Eidevall is getting results.
Women’s football needs personalities and eyes on the game – it is hard to look away when Eidevall is around.
Maanum’s goal went viral… her patience has paid off
Frida Maanum’s sensational goal against Bayern Munich, described as ‘beautiful’ by Mikel Arteta, has now been viewed over four million times on DAZN’S Twitter account. Maanum followed that up with a crucial equaliser against Manchester City on Sunday.
The midfielder may be well known in her native Norway but her potential is only just being realised here.
With Vivianne Miedema missing since December with an ACL injury, Maanum has stepped up. But in truth, the Norwegian was already looking superior before that.
The 23-year-old was signed by the Gunners last season but was in and out of the team for much of her first year.
A Norwegian journalist attended one of Arsenal’s last games 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 arguably been their best player this season.
Frida Maanum (right) had to be patient at Arsenal but is now thriving in a starring role for them
The proof that Europe MUST improve
The standard of refereeing in Arsenal and Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-finals left a lot to be desired.
Marta Huerta de Aza failed to give a free-kick when Arsenal captain Kim Little was hacked down by Bayern Munich’s Sarah Zadrazil, a tackle that forced the midfielder off with an injury.
At Stamford Bridge, Ivana Martincic did not follow rules by failing to stop the game when Chelsea midfielder Melanie Leupolz went down with a head injury. Martincic did not halt play until the blood was streaming down the face of Leupolz, who had suffered a broken nose.
There was then a ridiculous wait for Maren Mjelde to take Chelsea’s last-minute penalty in extra time. The official struggled to explain to players that they had to step away from the box due to it being the last kick of the game.
The referees in the Champions League are supposed to be the best the women’s game has to offer. But after watching those performances last week, is anyone convinced?
The handling of Chelsea star Melanie Leupolz’s head injury showed an issue 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 had to withdraw through injury.
Wubben-Moy has struggled for game time at Arsenal this season but Kim Little’s injury saw her brought off the bench against Bayern Munich and the defender responded with an assured display.
Could do better: Lauren Hemp
The Manchester City winger is battling with Lauren James and Chloe Kelly for a starting place in Sarina Wiegman’s team but missed two golden chances against Arsenal at the weekend.
Hemp has not quite hit the heights of last season and her miss from five yards out perhaps showed a lack of confidence.
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