England manager Sarina Wiegman admits she was left “flabbergasted” by Jonas Eidevall’s sudden resignation as Arsenal boss.
After a challenging start to the season for the WSL club, which includes one win from their opening four league games, it was confirmed on Tuesday morning that the Swede had vacated his position as head coach. News followed a bitter 2-1 loss at the hands of Chelsea over the weekend.
Less than an hour after news of Eidevall’s immediate departure broke, Lionesses boss Wiegman sat down to address the media following the latest squad announcement. England will face Germany and South Africa in friendlies later this month as they ramp up their preparations for Euro 2025.
Wiegman said she was made aware of the announcement prior to the squad unveiling, but that didn’t make the news any less shocking.
“Of course, I was in a little bit of shock,” she told the assembled media. “I didn’t expect that.
“It’s really sad. It’s always sad when things like that happen. I had a good working relationship with him, so I was a little bit flabbergasted, to be honest.”
Pressure had been mounting on the Swede in recent weeks after a mixed start to the campaign. Sections of the Arsenal fanbase had been calling for his departure due to the sub-par run of results, with a change in fan culture a by-product of the exponential growth of the women’s game.
“The game is growing so much and we’re visible so much,” Wiegman added. “There’s now three clubs in the Champions League, and it’s getting bigger and bigger.
“It’s becoming part of the game, unfortunately it’s a negative one. Lot’s of things [about the growth] are very positive, but also some negative and difficult things are coming with it.”
Arsenal’s process to appoint a successor is already underway, and first-team assistant Renee Slegers will take charge of the team on an interim basis. The Gunners are in action on Wednesday in the Champions League against Valerenga, and they travel to face West Ham in the WSL this weekend.
