Arsenal finished 5th in the group phase and bagged a seeded round of 16 draw with a 3-0 win over Leuven in Belgium on Wednesday night. Renee Slegers spoke to the press post match, the first two questions are from Arseblog News.
On the team being more intense and playing higher up the pitch…
We always frame every single game, just every single game, it’s a different story, a different component and it’s almost like a dancing together. So they’re gonna bring something, we are gonna bring something to the game and I think I’ve mentioned it before, that this block we’ve had other types of games compared to the last block. So the four teams that we’ve played against they are sitting in more in a mid to low block and we have been working on the details against those type of blocks and I’m happy with how we have performed. So for us, bravery again was important tonight and doing everything together. So from that perspective, how we wanted to go into the game and how that played out, I’m really happy.
On learnings from the group phase…
I think the learning so far in the season is that we can’t wait for anything. We have to start well and start fast. I think in general, we we’ve played against a lot of different teams and that’s I think the charm of this new system. Which is nice, and of course it’s it started with the loss against Lyon at home and I think in that game, they were the better team. So we had to accept it, that game. Last year, we lose the first game against Lyon as well 2-1 but then we come back, but then with this new system, you don’t have a chance to come back. But then I think results have been better with the exception of Bayern where we what we do really well in the first half, we have a lead and we are not happy with giving that away. With the starting position for tonight and us needing the win, we were already secure in the knockout phase, but we definitely wanted the three points and it was a moment, a scenario in the 1st half, and we were one nil up and the other standings were positive for us, we had the option to go up to the to the top 4, but we don’t. We can’t control what the other teams do. For where we started now, ending in the in the fifth place is okay after tonight and I’m happy with three points, clean sheet and the performance.
On Arsenal maintaining the intensity tonight…
In our analysis and planning for this game in Champions League we could see the difference in first half, second half in what they concede and how they do things in the first half compared to second half where they come out strong, aggressive, more opportunistic, more numbers high, create more chances, have scored more goals in the 2nd half as well. I think they had that spell in the 2nd half, but we managed that. It’s a team performance because when new players come on, we get new energy, new ideas. So that was really good. It’s been a big block for us with short turnaround. If I take an example of the midfield, Pelova was home in London with illness, so there was not a lot of options. There is some players that have played a lot of minutes so it’s not an easy game. It’s not an easy place to come. We’ve seen it for the other teams, how that’s been. So I’m really happy with how we then maintain our intensity and quality.
On playing Atleti or Leuven in the next round…
I like this place and it’s close to my home as well. I thought the atmosphere was fantastic. I felt the home fans created a lot of noise and you could feel the energy in the stadium. And then again, we sell out the away section and our fans are fantastic. I could see them, I could see their scarves going around and I was happy with the players connecting with them as well. I was so grateful for them travelling, so I thought it was a great atmosphere. It was a great thing for women’s football that happened today, because we are the champions at the moment of Europe. We play against Leuven and I think they are making their debut in the Champions League. They have a record today, so there’s a lot of things happening in women’s football. I thought this was a special moment.
On McCabe finishing the game in midfield…
She is very intelligent and she’s played some other roles for Ireland as well. She’s played in midfield a couple of times before in her Arsenal career. I don’t think I have done that before, but like I just said, we didn’t have a lot of options in midfield and Katie looked really good, very fresh still, has a lot of game understanding and I think she did really well in midfield. So we quickly talked her through the role. She picked it up straight away and did really well.
28.Borbe; 24.Hinds, 3.Wubben-Moy, 7.Catley (6.Williamson ‘64), 11.McCabe; 10.Little(c) (25.Blackstenius ‘64), 32.Cooney-Cross; 9.Mead, 8.Mariona (2.Fox ‘76), 15.Smith (19.Foord ‘64); 23.Russo (12.L.Maanum ‘83)
Unused: 2.Fox, 5.L.Codina, 44.Harwood, 53.Liddiard