Renée Slegers spoke to the media ahead of Arsenal’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup match against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. Arsenal come into the match on the back of a 4-3 comeback victory over London rivals West Ham where some defensive fragilities as well as immense resilience were present in Slegers’ side.
The Halfway Line got the opportunity to speak with Arsenal’s head coach on Friday afternoon ahead of the visit of Liverpool to Meadow Park.
Slegers proud that Arsenal stayed ‘composed’ and ‘calm’ in the face of West Ham challenge
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On Sunday afternoon with 54 minutes on the clock Arsenal were 3-1 down to West Ham, staring down the barrel of defeat, one that would have felt unthinkable prior to kick off. However just seven minutes later Arsenal had turned the match on its head and were leading 4-3, a result they were able to see out despite late West Ham pressure.
Slegers was asked what Arsenal have learnt from that match, she thoughtfully replied:
“I think the main positive feedback from the West Ham game is that we have never been in this situation, I think, where we are two goals down twice in the game, and the girls show that they can come back from those things, to stay very composed and calm in the chaotic and pressured moments. So I think that was my big positive feedback.”
Slegers continued: “I’m so happy to see that, because you don’t want that to happen. And clean sheets are very important for us, defensive solidity, but it can happen sometimes. I think that’s the brilliance of football, that it’s unpredictable and any team can score against anyone, otherwise it wouldn’t be interesting to come and watch, but us, coming back from those setbacks, I am very happy with the mentality in the team at the moment.”
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A feature of the defensive fragility Arsenal displayed at times was defending set pieces. Arsenal conceded two goals from two corners in a row to the same player in West Ham’s Amber Tysiak. Slegers was asked about lessons learnt in that aspect of the match ahead of the visit of Liverpool, she responded:
“We always look at set pieces. So we always do a preview and a review, and we train set pieces ahead of games. So there was no difference against West Ham, and there will be no different ahead and after Liverpool. We are aware that two of the three goals were corner goals, so that’s definitely something we want to do better.”
Lotte Wubben-Moy still unavailable confirms Slegers
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Arsenal have been without some key players at times this season. They have had to make do without each of Mariona Caldentey, Leah Williamson and Beth Mead at various points in the year. Last weekend Victoria Pelova made the bench for Arsenal for the first time since returning from her ACL injury but there was still no place in the squad for Lotte Wubben-Moy, Slegers was asked for the latest team news, she explained:
“There’s one more session to go tomorrow, so we’ll see how every everyone comes through. Lotte [Wubben-Moy] is not available. Chloe Kelly is cup tied. Lina Hurtig has been ill, so we’ll see if she is going to be able to make it or not. And then for the rest, everyone is in contention.”
Slegers says individuals at Arsenal can ‘blossom’, ‘bloom’ and ‘flourish’ as a collective
Anyone who has attended or listened to an Arsenal women’s press conference will be familiar with football writer Helen Jerome, Slegers certainly is. Jerome put it to Sleger’s that with spring appearing could Slegers tell us about players blossoming this season in her Arsenal team, with a smile etched across her face, Slegers replied:
“Beautiful question. I see the blossoms as well. I love it. I’m riding my bike into into work in the mornings. So it’s lovely to see. I think staying with the weather, the weather makes such an impact for human beings. And you see more smiles, I think, now while the sun is out, which is which is lovely. So that’s good. So spirits have been very high in the group and talking about blossoms and flourishing I think we always try to be good as a collective, and if we’re good as a collective, then individuals can blossom, bloom, flourish.”
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Slegers continued: “I’m happy with it not being the same individuals all the time, but it’s spread across the squad, which means that we’re good as a collective at the moment, and we’re willing to do the work and do the job for individuals to be good in the games. And I think that also says something about our unpredictability as a team, that we can do it in different ways against different teams. So I’m happy with that.”
Katie McCabe ‘means a lot to us’ hails Slegers
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When Arsenal had conceded the third West Ham goal, the crowd went as quiet as they had been all afternoon. It was an unfamiliar feeling for Arsenal fans. It would have been easy for heads to have dropped but on the pitch the Arsenal players heads did not.
One player who epitomised that for Arsenal was Katie McCabe, it was her goal that brought Arsenal back into the match at 2-3. The Halfway Line put it to Slegers and asked just how important she is to the team, the Dutch head coach effusively responded:
“She’s very important, as the rest of the team is. So I think every individual contributes to the team in many different ways, both on and off the pitch. Katie does that by her qualities on the ball, of course, her technical abilities, her left foot, her game intelligence, her versatility. She can play different roles on the pitch for us, she’s very vocal on the pitch in trainings and games, which which helps us move the team forward. So she means a lot to us. But then again, there’s a lot of individuals that play their roles that move the team forward.”
On McCabe’s logic defying goal to pull one back for Arsenal in the second half, Slegers said simply: “I think it was technically very high level moment.”
Slegers delights in Chloe Kelly’s ‘feistiness’ and ‘willingness to win’
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While Chloe Kelly is cup tied this weekend, she made her first start for Arsenal against West Ham and scored a goal just before half time that gave Arsenal hope. Slegers was asked about just what the Lioness star brings to Arsenal, she replied:
“Of course, you see players playing for other teams, and you see the footage, so I think I had a good idea of who she was as a player on the pitch. But getting to know her, I think the way she trains, the way she contributes to the team, her feistiness, her willingness to win, her competitiveness, I’m very impressed with those things, and she’s helping move the team forward.”
Slegers happy with Kyra Cooney-Cross’ ‘patience and grit’
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Kyra Cooney-Cross is enjoying her best season at Arsenal, the Australian midfielder broke into the side after injuries to Kim Little and Lia Wälti. And a string of successive impressive performances have seen her become an essential cog in the Arsenal machine, a fact underlined by her performance off the bench on Sunday.
Slegers was asked for her thoughts on Arsenal’s number 32, she noted:
“I think the role that she plays for Arsenal is quite a complex role. We ask a lot of things there’s a high demands on players, and that role both in and out of possession. And I think especially the if you look at her detail, out of possession, it’s improved so much. And it’s because it takes time to get used to the way we want to do things.”
Slegers continued: “And I’m very happy with with Kyra’s patience and grit and staying in that keep working hard, and that’s what she’s done. And her chances have come, and she’s taken the chances as well. So again, I think on all positions, we have so many players doing so well at the moment.”
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