It was a rivalry that took hold of the Women’s Super League and dominated clashes between Arsenal and Chelsea – and now Jonas Eidevall has widenend the rift with Emma Hayes.

Eidevall, who left Arsenal in October following a poor start to the season, has been announced as the new manager of National Women’s Soccer League club San Diego Wave.

It means the Swedish coach will be forced to work and collaborate with Hayes, the manager of the United States national team.

But according to Eidevall the pair have not had a working relationship since Hayes’ comments after last season’s League Cup final, which Arsenal won in extra-time.

The former Chelsea manager pushed Eidevall after the final whistle and claimed her reaction was down to his “male aggression” on the touchline.

Speaking for the first time since leaving Arsenal and taking up his new role, Eidevall told Swedish newspaper Sportbladet that he and Hayes have not spoken since that altercation.

“I was very disappointed by that, very disappointed,” Eidevall said. “I’m also very disappointed that she hasn’t been able to send a message or make a call to say that it went wrong.

“I won’t be the one to extend a hand either, because I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong or crazy in the situation.

“The way I experienced it, it was just a way to try to harm me and my person through the media. I took that quite badly and didn’t think it turned out well at all.”

With San Diego having Naomi Girma and other players eligible for the US in their ranks, it would be assumed Hayes and Eidevall will have to communicate over their selection for the national team.

But Eidevall claimed Hayes did not reach out when he had US defender Emily Fox at Arsenal and that the only communication he had was with her assistant coaches. This, he said, was in contrast to the way England manager Sarina Wiegman and other national team coaches worked.

Eidevall’s departure from Arsenal, which he says was his decision, came amid mounting pressure from the club’s supporters. His final game in charge was a 2-1 defeat by Chelsea, after which “Jonas Out” graffiti appeared near the Emirates Stadium.

As well as poor results at the start of the season, there was a negative reaction from fans to the club’s decision to let Vivianne Miedema join WSL rivals Manchester City on a free transfer. Eidevall pinpoints that as the moment supporters started to turn on him, though there was also a feeling he had lost the dressing room.

Eidevall also took aim at Arsenal for not having a sporting director, which he said made the job a “lonely place.”

Clare Wheatley is Arsenal’s director of women’s football, a role which includes overseeing transfers, contracts and the current search for a new manager.

Renée Slegers has been interim manager since Eidevall’s departure and looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.