Arsenal Women make Nick Cushing, New York City FC head coach, primary target for managerial vacancy

Arsenal have made New York City FC men’s head coach Nick Cushing their primary target to replace Jonas Eidevall as their new women’s team manager.

Eidevall decided to step aside with two years remaining on his contract earlier this month after a period of disappointing results.

Arsenal are eager for Cushing, 39, to fill that vacancy but the former Manchester City women’s manager is not the only candidate in what is an ongoing process.

Cushing is about to enter the playoffs with NYCFC and is under contract with the Major League Soccer side until the end of the 2025 season. Such scheduling is not ideal for Arsenal but the club are willing to make things work with full confidence in assistant manager Renee Slegers as interim head coach.

NYCFC have round one of the MLS Cup playoffs (a best-of-three format) against FC Cincinnati on October 28, November 2 and November 9 (if necessary). Should they progress, they could feature in the conference semi-finals in late November, the finals on November 30 or December 1 and the MLS Cup winner-take-all match on December 7.

Cushing left City in 2020 to work in the men’s game in the United States but remained within the City Football Group (CFG) — which owns City and NYCFC among other clubs across the globe — becoming assistant coach for NYCFC. The opportunity to stay within CFG was an influential factor in his decision to move to men’s football. Having spent nearly 20 years at CFG, Cushing is highly valued and the group may be determined to keep him.

He stepped up as interim NYCFC head coach in the summer of 2022 before taking the role permanently in November of that year. NYCFC finished third in the Eastern Conference during the 2022 season, reaching the semi-finals of the MLS Cup playoffs. They struggled in 2023, though, missing out on the playoffs after coming 11th in the Eastern Conference but bounced back with a sixth-placed finish this year.

Cushing has vast experience in the Women’s Super League having guided City to the title in 2016, the FA Cup in 2017 and the League Cup in 2014 and 2016. He started off at City, however, in 2006 in the boys’ academy and in the autumn of 2013 started working with the women’s team, becoming manager in February 2014.

While at City, Cushing coached England legends such as Jill Scott and Steph Houghton, mainstay Lionesses Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, Ellen White and Georgia Stanway, as well as youngsters Lauren Hemp and Jess Park.

“It had been mine, my wife and my kids’ lives for six years,” he said, recalling his experience in Manchester to The Athletic in 2021. “I love what I do here in New York — I love the team here and the project we’ve got with (former head coach) Ronny (Deila) and NYCFC — but I miss it every day because it was just the best job in the world in the sense of the people I worked with, the opportunities we had, the trophies we won.”

Director of women’s football Clare Wheatley, supported by sporting director Edu, is leading the recruitment process at Arsenal.

Slegers has stepped up as interim head coach, securing two wins over Valerenga in the Champions League and West Ham United in the WSL. The club trust in her capabilities to continue leading the team until they secure their next manager. Arsenal’s next game comes at Manchester United on November 3.

(Andrew Katsampes/ISI Photos/Getty Images)