Arsenal Women manager Jonas Eidevall is a tactical genius.. by Michelle
Just like they struck gold in 2019 by appointing Mikel Arteta as Arsenal boss, giving Jonas Eidevall the keys to take charge of the Arsenal women’s team in 2021 was a masterstroke. The Swede has been doing a fantastic job at Arsenal since they poached him from Rosengard.
In 92 games in charge at Arsenal, he has seen them to 63 wins, 12 draws, and 17 losses. A 68 percent win rate shows what a winner he is. I bet the 40-year-old is yet to discover his Arsenal dream team; he’s slowly working to achieve it, but let’s recognise what a tactical genius he is. The fact that Arsenal managed to win the Continental Cup, reach the Champions League semi-finals (and nearly reach the final), and be in an excellent position to finish in the top 3, despite the many injuries sidelining key players, is just incredible.
Eidevall has a way of tweaking his system to see different players play in different positions, like McCabe in a full-back position and Pelova in the wings, to get the job done. And while that’s the only thing many praise the Arsenal boss for, many don’t appreciate one other game-changing tactical move he makes. He has a way of reading a game, and in a match like the recent Leicester game, he transitions through different formations. Arsenal, under his guidance, have found a way to switch from playing in a back three to a back four.
Not many coaches have the skill to easily switch formations like that. In the PL, Guardiola is the one who does that; even Arteta doesn’t. The Arsenal boss, after the Leicester 1-0 win last Friday, highlighted how crucial his team’s ability to switch formations was to getting the three points.
Eidevall said via Arseblog, “Yes, but we didn’t know they would play a back five; they usually play a back four diamond. Maybe it would have been even better against that; we could make use of it, especially when we went through Pelova in the first half and opened up their man-marking system. But we win the game when we go to a back four in the second half and we go three vs. two in their midfield, and Frida Maanum becomes a spare player every time there. We score from that, but we also created other opportunities. I am happy that we have got to that point where we have that versatility that we can change formations during the game and be proactive in changing the picture, and today that was very important.”
Eidevall is a tactical genius, and you only need to watch Arsenal women play to see how technically rich he is. Let’s see what our Gunners do on Wednesday when they face Brighton, away at Broadfield Stadium.
COYGW!
Michelle Maxwell
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