Why Arsenal hired Renee Slegers as their new head coach – consistency, solidity and ruthlessness

January is a time of new beginnings, a sentiment that could be felt at Arsenal’s training ground this week. This week, that photo, which showed former head coach Jonas Eidevall with last season’s Arsenal squad, was replaced. In its place is a new photo showing Renee Slegers and Alessia Russo holding their Women’s Super League manager, player and goal of the month awards for December, surrounded by the playing squad and 27 members of backroom staff Slegers is now Arsenal’s permanent head coach after a three-month recruitment process. Although sporting director Edu left the club in the early weeks of Slegers’ interim tenure, his remit was always more executive than day-to-day, which meant the responsibility of recruiting Arsenal’s next head coach fell mostly to director of women’s football, Clare Wheatley. I think that was almost, in some ways, harder, because everything is on your shoulders and now I feel that we’re really doing it together.” The support Slegers felt while in interim charge is likely why she wanted to include so much of her backroom staff in that squad photo, but she has already begun stamping her authority on how the team moves forward on and off the pitch.