Can Eidevall turn things around at Arsenal?
The “Jonas out” painted on a wall outside the ground and the mock P45 waved from the stands reflect the pressure on Arsenal’s manager, Jonas Eidevall, after Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat by Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium. That result alone hasn’t led to this level of discontent; it has been bubbling under the surface, getting closer to boiling over with every failure to break down a low block, every sloppily conceded goal and every indication that the plan just isn’t working. Two draws in the league, against Manchester City and Everton, a 5-2 loss to Bayern Munich, despite having twice taken the lead, and the manner of the goals conceded against Chelsea have played their part. The concession of the first goal on Saturday via a corner, shortly after Eidevall had been on the BBC talking about how much work they had done on defending set pieces in preparation, was symbolic of how wrong things are going. Can they turn it around? Of course. However, with the disconnect between the fans and the manager growing and several players looking disconsolate, the signs don’t look good. SW
