Renee Slegers will stay in interim charge of Arsenal Women until the New Year. Slegers took over as interim when Jonas Eidevall resigned in October and has overseen a sharp upturn in form with Arsenal winning six and drawing one of her seven games in charge so far. The Gunners play Aston Villa, Valarenga, Liverpool and Bayern Munich before the Christmas break which sees them not play between 18 December and 11 January.
It is still not clear whether Slegers is a candidate to take over permanently but her performance so far has reassured the club that they do not need to rush the process to appoint a permanent coach and our understanding is that a permanent appointment is unlikely before Christmas.
In her pre-Aston Villa press conference, Slegers said, ‘I am happy to contribute to the team, I was really happy in the role I was in before and I am happy stepping in and doing this. We are such a big group of people doing a really good job, both players and staff. I enjoy being at Arsenal.’ Asked whether an ongoing interim manager creates any uncertainty around the club, Slegers said, ‘No, it doesn’t for me and I cannot sense that around the team.’
Asked whether she would like the role permanently, she said, ‘This question always comes up in the press conferences! New block, same questions! I understand the question, I enjoy it at the moment, I don’t know about the future, I just do everything I can to help the team now. As a group we have highlighted what we wanted to do, the players have been taking big ownership, holding themselves and each other accountable. We have tried to lead and facilitate that process but big credit to the group of players.’
As well as this, Amanda Ilestedt has returned to training following the birth of her daughter in August. A room has been made available at the Sobha Realty Training Centre for Amanda to feed her daughter and bring her to training. She is currently on a return to play training plan and once she does return to play (timelines there are not set in stone), reasonable adjustments will be made such as allowing her to take her daughter on away trips.
Slegers told Arseblog News of Ilestedt, ‘It is nice to have Amanda back in the building with her baby, it is a nice addition I think! It brings a new dynamic in the canteen. Amanda was out on the pitch today but it will take some time, it takes time to build back up, it is a big happening for a female body to give birth. She is doing really well but there is no specific timeframe I can share with you.’
Arseblog News also asked about Victoria Pelova and her recovery from an ACL injury suffered in June, ‘She was training with us, we had a couple of players in during the international break and she did some bits of sessions with the rest of the players which was very positive.’
Lia Walti will not be available on Sunday after having surgery to remove an abscess, Slegers told Arseblog News, ‘Lia is recovering well from her surgery, she is still in Switzerland and will not be available for Sunday. Steph Catley trained today in a full session.’