As the full-time whistle blew on a rainy, windy, dramatic, helter-skelter contest at Meadow Park, there was no doubt as to who the 3,000+ strong home contingent wanted in the dugout next year. Arsenal had just defeated Bayern Munich 3-2 to swipe top spot in their Champions’ League group from the clutches of their German rivals, a notion that was nigh on unthinkable just two months ago.
‘We’ve got super Renée Slegers!’ roared the North Bank in unison, as the players came over for their traditional lap of appreciation. ‘She knows exactly what we need!’, they continued. And based on the evidence we have seen over recent weeks, it’s hard to think otherwise.
This was billed as the final test, the proof that Slegers could not just get a result against the rank and file of the Women’s Super League (WSL), but also against one of Europe’s big hitters. After all, it was the reverse fixture at the start of the group stage that brutally exposed that time had run out on Jonas Eidevall. A potentially positive 1-1 draw at half time was cast aside, as the Gunners imploded spectacularly to lose 5-2. As Pernille Harder celebrated her hat-trick with the home fans, the travelling support and the Arsenal players were left to wade through the detritus of a shambolic second half surrender in Bavaria.
In less than a week, Eidevall had departed, and Slegers was given the task of steering the ship in his place. There was nothing in her opening matches to suggest Arsenal would be navigating away from negative maelstrom they’d become stranded in any time soon. A vacuous and dreary performance in a 2-0 win away at West Ham United was hardly the inspiring banner to march under. But following the international break, the tumbling pebble of momentum had snowballed into an incredible run of form that not only has seen allowed Arsenal to find passage to calmer waters but also constructed a water-tight case that the ideal candidate to take up the mantle discarded by Eidevall may well be the one already at the helm.
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Players praise the freedom afforded by the Renée-lution
What is abundantly clear is that Slegers has got the players enjoying playing their football again, giving them the freedom to express themselves on the pitch rather than being chained to the system. Speaking after the victory over Bayern Munich, Leah Williamson expressed her joy of coming into to work.
“Everybody is pulling their weight a bit more and maybe we needed that, you’ve seen a different side because we as players have taken more responsibility and she has just encouraged everyone to be themselves, we found a way that fits everybody and taken advantage of that.”
This isn’t just based on the soundbites from the players in the post-match interviews, you can also see it when you watch them perform on the pitch. In Munich, the moment Arsenal went behind, their heads dropped, and the game was wrenched from their grasp. At Meadow Park, after Eriksson had given Bayern the lead, Arsenal’s response was quick, confident, and they never looked back after Alessia Russo had volleyed in the equaliser.
“This team at the minute I always feel like we’re going to score even when we’re not playing the prettiest football,” explained Williamson. “That turnaround, everyone being accountable and stepping up and doing their jobs. My job in the end is to make sure they don’t score again and then the other girls have the freedom to do what they needed.”
The joy of the game, the unity of a team, these are not factors that can be quantified on a tactics board or preached in a team meeting. For all of Eidevall’s strengths as a footballing tactician, this was something he was never able to forge within the collective during his time in charge, and it was what led, in part, to his downfall.
The togetherness of 2022/23 campaign that helped bring trophy success back to North London came not from the manager, but from the players rallying against the traumatic injuries their comrades had suffered. The horror collapse of Frida Maanum in last season’s League Cup Final helped galvanise the team for the for the 30 minutes of extra time to come, with the players determined to win the match for her.
Under Eidevall, Arsenal used the setbacks that befell the team to inspire them to raise their game. And whilst they may have worked in the critical moments, they were never able to sustain them for the totality of a season. Slegers has managed to draw out that positivity from the players, to have them find that drive and desire, without needing a calamitous scenario to inspire them. Eidevall may have provided Arsenal with the system to play within, but Slegers has allowed the team to perform upon it as well.
The benefits are there for all to see. Alessia Russo, who looked lost on the pitch in the opening games of the season, is now brimming with confidence and playing her best football since arriving at the club last year. An 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions has allowed Arsenal to grab onto the coattails of second-placed Manchester City in the WSL and qualify as one of the UWCL top seeds ahead of the quarter final draw in February. The case of Slegers grows with every game, and whilst Arsenal have been praised for holding their nerve up until now and not rushing to commit the family jewels to the managerial roulette wheel, their time has run out.
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Shortlists and stall tactics have long expired
Arsenal have been clear from the outset that they have a dedicated shortlist of managers they would consider for the job, and whilst the full list has never been made public, what managers out in the market could step in now and do a better job?
Nick Cushing was one name, outed by The Athletic as one of the names on the list, although was quick to distance himself from the job when the news broke. He has since become available following his sacking at New York City FC. Cushing won the WSL with Manchester City in 2016, but consistently fell short in every season that followed, and hasn’t managed in the WSL since 2020.
Carla Ward has made no secret of her desire to return to club management after stepping down as Aston Villa manager, Mark Parsons has been doing the rounds on Sky Sports and Casey Stoney has been posting her pictures of herself at Emirates Stadium. There are plenty of managers out there who would take the Arsenal job in a heartbeat, but are any of them truly a slam-dunk, 100% certain, WSL-Title winning manager?
As much as it would be a gamble to give Slegers the job, appointing someone else now with no club knowledge would risk jeopardising the work Slegers has done to steady the Arsenal ship. At this point, Arsenal’s public decision to hold back on making the call, to keep giving Slegers the next block of games, and to insist on running through the selection process properly, has all the earmarks of a student asking their tutor for another last-minute extension on their dissertation, despite having yet to even open their laptop.
It is of course one thing to ‘put smiles back on everyone’s faces’ in the short term, it is quite another to be a manager competent for the role and pressures that come with it in the longer run. In 2019, Rio Ferdinand memorably demanded on TV that Manchester United Men give then interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer their full backing, based not on credentials, but on a similarly impressive run of positive form. Two years later, Solskjaer was gone with nothing to show for his efforts and left a team in an even worse state than when he arrived.
Slegers is only 35, having started her managerial career in her late 20s after a serious knee injury prematurely ended her playing career. She is a manager of potential, not experience, although she can boast also winning the Damallsvenskan with FC Rosengård, just as her predecessor Eidevall did.
With just 11-games to judge Slegers’ suitability for the role beyond the present, it is naive to suggest that this run of form will easily be extrapolated for not just the remainder of this season, but also the seasons to come. To commit to Slegers now would also need to be an acceptance that mistakes will likely be made, as evidenced already.
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Raw Renée is a risk, but is best option at this time
At the Leigh Sports Village, Slegers’ tactical blunder of opting to prematurely remove Russo from the Arsenal attack, cost the Gunners two valuable points against Manchester United- their only draw on this otherwise unblemished run of form.
Against Bayern Munich, her decision to start Stina Blackstenius at 9 and Russo as the 10 failed to provide Arsenal with any serious attacking impetus. However, praise should be given to Slegers for being able to acknowledge this and rectify it within the game. The introduction of Beth Mead and Maanum and the move of Russo to 9 allowed Arsenal to press the Bayern team back into their own half and lay siege for the final 30 minutes, eventually scoring the winner through Mariona’s 86th minute penalty. It should be noted that after Eriksson’s second goal, Bayern Munich did not have a single effort of goal for the remainder of the match, a testament to both the Arsenal team’s response to adversity and Slegers’ smart tactical switch.
Credit should also be given to Slegers for resolving the ‘Rafaelle conundrum’, by shifting Steph Catley to left centre-back alongside Leah Williamson. She has given Arsenal a left-footed defender in the back row once again. The result is a defence that looks a lot more comfortable on the ball, and has only conceded six goals in eleven games, compared to the 10 goals let in during Eidevall’s last six matches in charge. The switch has also allowed Arsenal to unlock the potency of Katie McCabe once again, who was constant menace against Bayern Munich with her frequent raids up the left flank.
Throughout her time in interim charge, Selgers has refused to be drawn into whether she would like the job full time, deflecting the umpteenth question on the subject in her press conferences with consummate ease. She has only reiterated her love for working at the club in any capacity, a club where she spent her early playing years, even getting chance to cameo in a London County Cup match against West Ham United at one point. But whilst it is one thing to turn down repetitive questions from journalists, it will be quite another if the ultimate question comes from above.
Slegers has passed the final test. She has done all that was asked of her, and more. She has brought stability back to the season, inspired joy on the football pitch, and restored hope within the fans again. Arsenal have stalled for long enough. At this moment in time, there is only one person who can manage this team. Slegers is the only credible option left on the table, now the time has come for Arsenal to ask her the final question.