Last season, it felt like Slegers could do no wrong. As an interim, she drastically turned things around following Jonas Eidevall's departure, secured the job on a full-time basis in January and then went on to guide Arsenal to their first European triumph since 2007. She worked wonders and deserved all the praise that came her way.
At the start of this new season, though, the manager has come in for a little more criticism, particularly when it comes to her team selection. In the WSL, the Gunners have used the joint-fewest number of players through the first six games, with only three teams starting fewer different players in that time. A total of just 38 minutes of game time for Kyra Cooney-Cross, the talented Australia midfielder, has been a particular point of ire, as has been the complete lack of use of Jenna Nighswonger, the United States full-back.
This has led to Slegers' selection of a starting XI and even her substitutions becoming quite predictable. It's pretty easy to correctly guess at least nine of the 11 players in an Arsenal line-up and the changes are consistent, too, with straight swaps out wide and in the No.10 role almost always coming around the hour mark. That's despite players in this squad having real versatility, too.
Mariona Caldentey is a good example of this. Last season, she was used flexibly as a deep-lying midfielder, an attacking midfielder and an inverted left winger. This year, she has almost exclusively played the former role.
"She’s got to trust in that squad," Ian Wright said of Slegers' team selections while on punditry for Sky Sports during the 1-1 draw with Villa. "She uses the same substitutes every time. There’s no difference in the game. There’s no change in the way somebody’s going to come on and suddenly make it quicker and sharper for us, because she’s using the same players."
A little more unpredictability would certainly make this Arsenal team tougher to play against and prepare for, and likely change games more regularly in their favour.