**Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers says her side are ready to take the title race by storm after an emphatic 4-0 victory over Liverpool in the Women’s Super League (WSL).**
Following a disappointing loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Women’s Champions League during the week, a strong response from the Gunners was warranted as they flew past Liverpool at Emirates Stadium.
Head coach Slegers assessed the performance as a stark contract to Arsenal’s FA Cup exit just weeks ago.
“What they did well was they turned the game towards their benefit at Boreham Wood, they kicked the ball out of play and had low playtime. They just slowed the game down and they were very physical against us and we couldn’t find the right spaces because our tempo on the ball was way too slow. I think we got all those things right tonight and then when we play that way, I think it’s hard to stop us, I can imagine for the opposition.”
“It’s good to create habits in a group and can we create a habit of playing with intensity, being ruthless, starting games fast and then that becomes the norm for us. So this is what we want to do always, so it was an important one for us to do that today.”
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Arsenal made history on Saturday, becoming the first team to score four or more goals in six consecutive home fixtures in the WSL. Slegers noted that “the pitch is important for us because of the way we play”, before assessing her side’s recent home dominance.
“Just looking at where the women’s game is at now and and how hard Arsenal has worked for a long time to get it here that we are playing consistently at the Emirates with so many fans, I think that’s fantastic what the club has invested,” Slegers praised.
“So, if we want to get maximum reward for all the hard work and we want to get maximum opportunity to perform, then of course, it’s good to have the best facilities possible and that’s what we have here at the at the Emirates. Then a big part of it is that we have so many fans backing us and giving us that extra edge, then saying that scoring a lot of goals here and we’ve been doing that consistently. I don’t know if that’s because of the Emirates, but obviously we thrive here as a as a group.”
Now five points adrift of Chelsea in the league standings, Slegers is not writing her side out of the WSL title race.
“We have to do everything we can, so we believe that we can push and shake. That’s what we believe, but then we don’t know what what else is gonna happen so that’s outside our control, but we definitely feel that we can shake things and that we are ready that if anyone slips then we want to take that chance.”
Victoria Pelova made her long awaited return from injury on the occasion, stepping out on the pitch for the first time since rupturing her ACL last year.
“I’m so happy because she’s worked so hard and it’s lonely to do that. Even though she’s had great support from medical and technical staff and teammates as well, it’s still that’s not where you want to be if you love football so much and that’s what she does.
“She’s worked really hard and she’s been in the squad now a couple of games and I think we’ve softly brought her back in into this moment. I’m happy that the team set the game up so she could come on and that it happened at the Emirates with so many fans clapping for her.”