_Arsenal were knocked out of the Subway Cup at the semi-final stage after losing 1-0 to Manchester United at Meadow Park on Wednesday night thanks to a first half goal from Elisabeth Terland. Olivia Smith was sent off in the second half for the Gunners. Renee Slegers spoke to the press post-match, the first two questions are from Arseblog News._
**On the frustration of once again not converting dominance into goals…**
It’s super frustrating. I think we all agree with you, the way we dominated the game, the way we progressed the ball, the way we stopped them from getting chances. The way we deal with the circumstances, until that moment. We do so well. I think we entered their box and we have shots and that’s the one piece that’s missing at the moment, to be clinical, and be calm, and compose in and around the penalty box. So that’s what we’re working hard on and finding the right balance, but everything else we do so well. But it’s about scoring goals, so it’s, of course, very frustrating that we don’t get to win today.
**On whether she can fix scoring issues with the players she has or whether Arsenal need to enter the market…**
I’ve seen it. The players that are on the pitch today that are in and around the box, they get into situations that they got into last year, as well, where they finish it with so much composure. So it’s definitely there. So, like I just said, we now have to find the right balance of repetition, of ideas, sticking to things, tweaking things and just making sure that there’s a lot of confidence in the players, because they should believe in themselves, they can finish from those moments.
**On Olivia Smith’s red card…**
I have to watch it back properly. I have seen one clip quickly. The first one, I’m not sure, I couldn’t see it, clearly. It looked like she was on the ball first, but I’m not sure. But then, of course, if you are on a yellow, you have to have that in the back of your mind when you play. Liv plays on the edge and she doesn’t shy away from physical moments, from duels. She draws a lot of fouls and cards from the opposition. Now it was the other way around and that’s her style of play and it was a really tough lesson for her today and for the team, because obviously we go down with 10 players which makes it much harder if you’re one nil down. But then, like I just said, with 10 v 11, we still create a good amount of chances, which I’m very proud of. But, of course, it’s a hard situation.
**On apologising to the fans after the game…**
I feel it deeply, because, you see all those fans, and with 10 v 11 and we are going at it and it’s really hard, circumstances are hard. It’s raining, it’s still a sellout and everyone just keeps going, keeps shouting, keeps screaming. So I thought the fans did absolutely everything to help us tonight. So I felt sorry for them.
**On whether it was the better of the three performances against United this season…**
I think so. I think the chances are probably better. It’s also a very different game because of circumstances. I think it’s quite sloppy and on the pitch, there’s a lot of fights, but we expected that, so if it’s the best game so far, from a chance creation perspective, maybe, and how we stop them. They had almost nothing at the Emirates last time around as well. They are really hard to break down, but I think we found some better spaces, some better opportunities. But unfortunately, we didn’t take them.
**On Kyra Cooney-Cross being at the game tonight…**
I just saw her straight after the game, on the pitch. It was really good to see her. Obviously, she’s going through a really hard time and she’s back here now and we’re happy she’s here. But she was where she needed to be with her mum in Australia. We’ll see what happens in the next couple of days with her.
**On making five changes to the line-up tonight…**
If I look at the five that came in after the Villa game they were fantastic. I think they do so well and we only had two days to prepare. We had no time to get on the pitch in their partnerships and they go out and perform like this. And that’s why it hurts even more, because I thought they were so worth a win tonight.
**On whether she has spoken to Olivia Smith yet…**
Yeah, I just met her shortly after the game. She’s very upset. She’s not happy with it. She feels like she’s lets the team down, but we are in it together. It’s very tough lessons for her, but, of course, we support her.
**On Smilla Holmberg’s performance…**
She is doing really well, she’s integrating really well. It’s a new style even though Hammarby did similar things, like we do, so it was quite easy for her to step into the way we play and the game model. She’s 19 years old. She moves to a new country. She lives with a family and it’s all very new. It’s a big step for her, a new team, new language, getting to know new players and stuff. Now, I think she’s been amazing, and like I said, we’ve asked her to play a certain role now, these last three games that she’s featured and she can play different roles as well. So she’s absolutely doing fantastic, so we’re really happy with her.
**On playing out from the back in difficult weather conditions…**
The way United set up, they like to go into player for player pressure, high pressure. They are aggressive in the first phase and the pitch, the way the pitch looks, the wind was playing a role. So it wasn’t easy. Like you saw, most of the time, we’re choosing to go a little bit more direct. But unfortunately, in one moment, which was a crucial moment, we didn’t.
**On what she said to the players at full-time…**
There were two things. There were moments in the game and then we did so many things so well, and that I was hurt because I felt that the players deserve more. It’s about one thing at the moment. It’s finishing and getting the ball into the net.
28.Borbe; 24.Hinds (31.Holmberg ‘75), 3.Wubben-Moy, 5.L.Codina, 11.McCabe; 21.Pelova (10.Little ‘75), 8.Mariona; 15.Smith, 12.L.Maanum (25.Blackstenius ‘57), 19.Foord; 23.Russo (9.Mead ‘84)
Subs: 7.Catley, 14.van Domselaar, 44.Harwood, 53.Liddiard