Eidevall has 'no regrets' on Arsenal exit or Miedema transfer decision

Jonas Eidevall insists he has no regrets over his Arsenal exit and the handling of Vivianne Miedema's unpopular and controversial departure last summer.

Eidevall took charge of the Gunners in the summer of 2021 following a successful spell in his homeland with Rosengard, overseeing 120 games across all competitions. 

The Swede won 80 of those matches at the helm (D16 L24), while also guiding Arsenal to three consecutive top-three finishes in the Women's Super League. 

Eidevall also led the Gunners to back-to-back League Cup titles, beating Emma Hayes' Chelsea in both the 2023 and 2024 finals.

However, the start to this season did not go to plan. Arsenal won just four of their first nine games in all competitions, with only one of those victories coming in the WSL. 

His final game came in a 2-1 defeat to long-term rivals Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, coming days after a dismal 5-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. 

"I thought the easiest quick fix in this moment here now is for me to step away," Eidevall said in an interview with BBC Sport. 

"It was extremely tough, both for me personally - my family of course - but also professionally. It's a privilege to be leading a club like Arsenal.

"It's very special when you're there, so an extremely difficult decision to make."

Aside from a tumultuous final week, the breakdown in the relationship between Eidevall and Arsenal fans had already begun at the end of last season.

The call not to extend Miedema's contract, with the forward now playing for WSL rivals Manchester City, was met with extreme discontent from supporters.

Miedema had been a pivotal part of Arsenal's success in recent years, scoring 125 goals and providing 50 assists in 172 appearances before departing for the Citizens. 

Eidevall shared that the decision was taken as they had the budget to either extend Miedema or sign Spain international Mariona Caldentey on a free transfer from Barcelona.

Having opted for the latter, he said he has no regrets over letting Miedema go to one of their WSL rivals. 

"I don't. I think you always take the best decisions as you can make for the club at that point with the information that you know," Eidevall added. 

"You can't rethink decisions based on new information that you could not have known at that time. That's not a helpful way of thinking about life. So no regrets.

"I do think that that decision was a big part in my relationship with the supporters [deteriorating].

"I never took any decision to be liked. I always took decisions because I felt they were the best for the club and for the team. 

"But the problem is when you take those decisions, and you don't get the results, then, of course, it very much spirals."

Eidevall has since returned to management with the San Diego Wave, replacing former England captain Casey Stoney back in January. 

The long-term vision at the Californian club really appealed to him, as well as the competitiveness of the NWSL itself.

His club is also currently going through a period of transition, having lost two of their biggest names - Naomi Girma to Chelsea and Alex Morgan to retirement. 

Yet despite the huge turnover of players at the club, he says the team's goal should still be to reach the play-offs at the end of the season.

"It feels like a complete rebuild to be honest," Eidevall said. "That's the challenge but also the opportunity."