Renée Slegers said Arsenal’s response to their 1-1 draw with Manchester United in November was a “critical moment” in helping her determine whether she wanted her interim role to be made permanent.

“The Man United away game was the first time I thought about wanting the job,” Slegers said on Friday after signing a contract to the end of next season. “I could see how we were really creating something, something positive. We don’t get the three points, we get one point, but we played really well and the fans backed us and supported us. That was a critical moment.

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“Then, there’s been other moments, mostly in the building, with staff and players, that have made me think: ‘Do I maybe want this? Do I want to keep on building this?’ That has been growing over the last couple of months.”

Arsenal named the 35-year-old as the permanent successor to Jonas Eidevall after an impressive temporary spell in charge. “Renée was the standout candidate” of a “thorough recruitment process”, said the director of women’s football, Clare Wheatley. That process involved whittling down a long list of 35 managers first to six candidates, then four and two.

“The club have been really critical and have really put me into challenging situations in interviews,” said Slegers. “When I was thrown into it it was very sudden, it was very unexpected, I was here to serve the club.”

She said she had enjoyed her time at the helm. “I’ve tried to create a light atmosphere. Togetherness is very important to empowering players and staff, and it’s been interesting.”

Arsenal are unbeaten under Slegers, who stepped up from her assistant’s role after Eidevall’s resignation on 15 October and has secured 10 wins from 11 games. They have scored 31 goals and conceded five – only one in the WSL – in that time.

The mood had been low. A limp 0-0 draw with Everton was followed by a humbling 5-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in their opening Champions League group game, then a 2-1 loss to title rivals Chelsea, before Eidevall resigned. Last week the Guardian confirmed Slegers was among the candidates in the final round of interviews having galvanised players and fans.

“Over the past few months, I’ve felt such a powerful sense of collective ownership and responsibility,” Slegers said. “That has been our strength and I know we will make sure we drive and nurture this feeling.”

Slegers joined as an assistant to Eidevall in 2023 after two years as head coach of the Swedish side Rosengård, where she won back-to-back Damallsvenskan titles. The former Netherlands international, who was in the Arsenal academy between 2006 and 2007, benefited from the vocal support of supporters as 2024 closed, with the last line of the chorus of Last Christmas converted to “I’ll give it to Renée Slegers”, sung loudly at games.

“It has meant the world to me to feel the closeness and passion of our supporters during this process, and I want to thank you all for that,” Slegers said. “We want to deliver something beautiful that’s inspiring and leads to winning trophies. We all have a big part to play in achieving that.”

Last Thursday Slegers was named as the WSL manager of the month for December in a clean sweep for the club, with Alessia Russo named player of the month and the scorer of goal of the month.

Wheatley said of Slegers: “We have every confidence that she is the best person to take us forward as we compete for trophies this season and beyond.”

The co-chair Josh Kroenke said: “We’ve all been incredibly impressed by the way Renée has led the team since October, nurturing a great collective spirit across the group and instilling belief in what we do and what we want to achieve – to win trophies and drive women’s football forward together.”

Arsenal play their first game of 2025 on Sunday against Crystal Palace at Boreham Wood after the postponement of their FA Cup fourth-round tie against Bristol City owing to a frozen pitch.