Reducing Manchester United to just one shot on target is a difficult feat, even for the Champions League winners and given the key absentee of Ella Toone.
Part of why that materialised was due to The Gunners amassing 25 shots, finding ways to penetrate the stubborn rear guard of Marc Skinner’s Man United setup and sustain momentum.
A key turning point came when the referee brandished a red card for Jayde Riviere, after the Canadian defender committed another foul that was deemed a yellow card offence.
The hosts had the best part of half an hour to take advantage and had plenty left in the tank to keep pummelling the visiting defence, supported by the attacking reinforcements from the bench, namely Caitlin Foord and Stina Blackstenius.
Ultimately, they could not find the vital goal, which gives leaders Manchester City further breathing room for their fixture against Everton on Sunday.
Slegers praised the dominance of her team, trying to break down the United defence: "We have a lot more shots created and a lot more entries into the box, but unfortunately we didn't get the ball into the net today. I think the way we dominate the game, apart from the early chance, a lot of parts of the game were excellent.
"I would be more worried if we weren't creating the chances. Now, it’s about the final detail. We wanted, needed three points today, so that’s two points lost for us."
As United were forced to camp in their defensive third and attempt to withstand a barrage of Arsenal attacks, to some extent, having one less player on the pitch switched their approach and made them more defensively-oriented.
Phallon Tullis-Joyce earned her clean sheet and debutant Hanna Lundkvist, alongside others in the back line, ensured United scraped over the line with the spoils shared rather than empty-handed.
Slegers acknowledged how the red card may have changed the game to work in United’s favour, while still reinforcing that the one-sided ending should have yielded a victory.
"I think we invested quite some numbers high up the pitch, especially the last 30 minutes in the game. We have to respect the opposition. United is a very strong team. They've also added some quality into their squad.
"I think if you look at the last 30 minutes in the game, I think we worked that scenario quite well. I think that's what you often see happen because they know their main objective is to defend something and defend the ball. So they're probably thinking less about how they want to go forward.
"So they make spaces really small and they don't have to think much about their next action going forward. United are excellent at defending their box.
"They have a really good goalkeeper. And I think I want to compliment them for how they defend their box. They don't make it easy for us at all."