Arsenal went out of the FA Cup after losing 2-0 to Brighton in the quarter-final on Sunday. Renee Slegers spoke to the press post-match, the first two questions are from Arseblog News.
On how much the games against Chelsea influenced this performance…
I think it had, but we didn’t want it to have an impact and we were very conscious of it. If you look at the games you’ve played, so the two quarterfinals, the North London Derby, right in between and the short turnarounds. It’s been a very intense block, but we were aware of that and I think if you don’t focus on that too much, and what it could be, what the negative effect would be on performance, but just take it as it is, and stay in a moment and focus on this. We should have dealt with it better.
On whether Steph Catley and Leah Williamson will join up with their countries…
Steph Catley won’t go away with Australia. She will stay at home. We will be having a conversation with England now, postgame, to make a plan for Leah.
On a flat performance after two draining games against Chelsea…
We always want to bring the energy, I think. The urgency to win all the margins on the pitch, because there was a lot about reading the flights of the ball, doubling down, second balls, getting it on the ground, react early and getting those margins on your side is important in a game like this. They have to be super switched on and that creates urgency on the pitch. So I think sometimes we did that okay and sometimes we didn’t do that well enough.
On Brighton’s game plan…
They were hungry and I could feel it. They were competing and they were giving everything. But that’s something we know that an opponent will bring, if you look at the games they have left in the season, this is a key game for them. And I said they brought that and it was about small margins, I think, and quite an equal game, but they have more energy, more urgency and maybe also one of the reasons why they finished the chances that they got.
On how this will impact the league game against Brighton in May…
We’ll see where we are at then, because it will be a busy block. We take the learnings and we’ll do that as well. They always come with new things and do things differently. You have to be ready for them, but there’s a couple of games before then.
14.van Domselaar; 31.Holmberg (2.fox ‘84), 3.Wubben-Moy, 5.L.Codina, 24.Hinds; 10.Little(c), 8.Mariona; 9.Mead (15.Smith ‘57), 12.L.Maanum (23.Russo ‘57), 18.Kelly (19.Foord ‘57); 25.Blackstenius (11.McCabe ‘76)
Subs: 13.Votikova, 21.Pelova, 28.Borbe, 44.Harwood