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"She's special to work with" - Renee Slegers commends Kim Little as midfielder hits 400 appearances

Renee Slegers was satisfied with a comfortable night's work for Arsenal as they beat OH Leuven 4-0 in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.

Olivia Smith, Alessia Russo and a double from Frida Maanum made the reigning champions' path into the quarter finals all but assured before hosting the Belgian underdogs next week.

After the match, Slegers provided her assessment: "Happy. Everything we wanted - clean sheet, goals, good performance. A lot of players involved, a lot of players contributing."

Not just a significant result, it was also a landmark occasion for midfielder Kim Little, who became the third Arsenal player to reach 400 appearances for the club.

"She's a top professional," Slegers began. "She does everything. She has such high standards. She does everything to be as good as possible in her own performances and for the team. Gets herself ready for every challenge.

"She's always reflecting, learning, wants to do things the best way possible. She's special to work with. She's very humble, and we want to be humble as a team, play with big belief and I think Kim embodies that."

Little herself spoke of her pride at hitting the 400 mark. The 35-year-old joined the Gunners aged 17, signing from Hibernian.

Aside from a few spells in Australia, France and the United States, Little's commitment and connection to the North London outfit has been unwavering for nearly two decades.

"It's incredibly special. First and foremost, we came here and put on a really good performance - scored four goals, clean sheet. But it was nice to recognise 400 games and it just feels so special. I'm incredibly proud to have represented this club that many times."

Looking back, Little remembered her first appearance in red - poetically another 4-0 away win. Under manager Vic Akers, she was part of a win over Leeds Carnegie that helped secure an FA Women's Premier League title - one of the first of her 17 honours at Arsenal.

"Leeds away, 4-0. Travelled down with my Mum, my Auntie and with Julie Fleeting [former Arsenal forward]. It's a long time ago now but I still remember it quite vividly. 399 games later, here we are.

"Nice words from Leah [Williamson] to recognise the milestone and they make every game so much fun and enjoyable, so let's hope for a few more as well."

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