Arsenal finished their WSL season with a 3-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield, sealed second place and automatic qualification for the Champions League group phase in the process. A first half brace from Alessia Russo and a goal from Mariona gave the Gunners a 3-0 half-time lead. Zara Shaw pulled one back for Liverpool in the second half. Renee Slegers spoke to the press post match, the first three questions are from us.
On having joy playing through Liverpool’s player for player press…
We expected that high pressure, it was their last game at Anfield and it is something they have had success with, it is their identity. You never know, sometimes teams adjust against us and they adjusted at the end of the first half and started to drop off and in parts of the second half. We were expecting the high jump pressure and finding the tools and getting the details right to get out of their pressure. When we did, it was quite open and we found space and I think we did that really well in the first half.
On the fan reception for Katie McCabe…
It was beautiful, there was a tribute to Gemma Bonner and we had to go away from our fans to respect that and be quiet in that moment for her and she deserves that. But our fans can’t stop and you look at that side of the stadium, how much of it was Arsenal fans. They just kept going the way they sing for the players and acknowledge what they have done for the club and players acknowledging them back, that connection is special, you don’t see it at a lot of clubs in this way. You really feel it and it is beautiful to see and Katie 100% deserved this moment. There are other players and other staff members leaving as well and it was nice for them as well.
On the importance of a full pre-season with a lot of player turnover…
When the whistle blew you know it’s the last moment for this group for this season, if I look at what we achieved, the day City won the league we wanted 2nd place which we have done, I was happy with that. Felt emotional because it’s the last time with this group and it’s sad to see people go and seeing what the connection is between the players and the fans. But then of course, you are always looking forward straight away and that is the hard part, because you have done something but it never stops because you have to start preparing. Head is straight into pre-season and next season and all the details. Next week we are going to do a big review with all the details and then I will take a week for myself to wrap my head around everything that has happened and plan for next season.
On adjusting to losing big personalities in Mead and McCabe…
They are both very vocal and create energy when it is needed, they speak up when it is needed, so that is something we will miss- their energy, their presence and also their football intelligence. But football is always like that, players leave and then there is room for new players to come in and everything changes again. I am expecting other players in the squad to step up even more, there are new players coming in who will bring quality too so I am really excited about how all that is going to gel together. There is a lot we are losing with Katie and Beth going.
On adapting to the amount of change ahead of next season…
There are a lot of plans in place for pre-season, around leadership, culture, integration, onboarding, the football because we are happy with how we have been growing throughout the season, the versatility and flexibility we can bring. We want to get that right again with new players coming in, building on the foundation we already have. Then there is the physical development, what we do with the training programme, what we do to get every player ready to perform next season. There are a lot of things we are prepping for, we are going to try to get it as right as possible.
14.van Domselaar; 2.Fox, 3.Wubben-Moy (24.Hinds HT), 5.L.Codina, 11.McCabe(c) (7.Catley ‘90); 21.Pelova, 8.Mariona; 9.Mead (15.Smith ‘57), 23.Russo, 19.Foord (18.Kelly ‘78); 25.Blackstenius (12.L.Maanum ‘57)
Subs: 6.Williamson, 10.Little, 28.Borbe, 31.Holmberg