Arsenal Women head coach Jonas Eidevall will now be joined in the dugout by Renee Slegers, who arrives at the club on the eve of their Champions League qualifying tournament in Linkoping.

Slegers joins Arsenal from Swedish club Rosengard, where she replaced Eidevall as head coach in June 2021 after his move to North London. The Dutchwoman won consecutive league titles in 2021 and 2022, having previously managed Rosengard B when Eidevall was in charge of the ‘A’ team.

The 34 year old was actually part of Arsenal’s youth academy setup from 2006 to 2007 before spending her senior career with Willem II in the Netherlands, and then Djurgardens and Linkoping in Sweden. 

Arsenal take on the latter on Wednesday afternoon as they begin their attempt to qualify for the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage. Slegers spent three years at Linkoping, winning the Damallsvenskan in her final year as a player.

Slegers retired from professional football in 2016 after making 55 appearances for the Netherlands, scoring 15 goals from midfield.

She told the Arsenal website “It’s fantastic to be coming back to Arsenal as assistant coach.”

“I talked to Jonas and he told me about the club and the ambitions here – and when you look at the squad and the facilities, it’s fantastic to be here. I’ve worked with Jonas before and I know what he’s looking to create here. I’m really excited to contribute and I can’t wait to get to work with the players and staff.”

? “I actually played in the Arsenal Academy when I was 17 years old, so for me, of all clubs in England, Arsenal is a special place.” Get to know our new assistant coach, Renee Slegers ?

— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) September 6, 2023

Earlier this summer, Lydia Bedford became head coach of the Brentford U18 men's side after a short time in Arsenal's dugout last season, meaning that a vacancy was there for an assistant to Eidevall. Arsenal legend Kelly Smith confirmed that she will stay on as a member of the coaching staff in an interview during the World Cup, in which she discussed how excited she was to coach Alessia Russo this season.

Head of Women’s Football Clare Wheatley added: “We are delighted to bring Renee to the club and believe she will be a valuable addition to our coaching staff, working under our head coach Jonas. Renee is a highly respected coach and has title-winning experience at Rosengard in Sweden, while we are also pleased to welcome her back to Arsenal following her time in our youth academy at the start of her playing career.”