Above: Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers in a press conference. Image: Arsenal.
By Sarah Myles (18/9/26).
Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers spoke to the media Thursday about squad sizes, frustrating draws and Arsenal’s next home game against a struggling Manchester United.
Following a tough 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace, Slegers said the best thing for her team is to get back on the grass to resolve the frustration of failing to score despite a dominant performance.
“We were happy with our dominance in the game and our entries in the final third, entries in the box, amount of shots,” Slegers said. But we’ve also been looking at how we can create even bigger opportunities for ourselves when the spaces are really tight and there’s a lot of bodies in the box.”
“We’ve been on a training pitch, and the players’ reaction has been really, really good. They’ve been working hard in training.”
Arsenal have the potential to extend their undefeated run in the WSL to 20 matches — the longest in club history. Slegers said she had “mixed emotions” about the statistic, focusing on how some of the draws in the period have been frustrating.
“It’s very positive; what you say is that we’re hard to beat and that’s really what we feel about ourselves,” Slegers said. “It’s nice to see in the background, but for us, it has no meaning in the moment.”
Arsenal made several high-profile signings over the summer transfer window, with Selina Cerci and Geraldine Reuteler still to make their debut. Slegers said both could make an appearance this weekend.
“They’re great players, both of them,” Slegers said. “They’ve both had disrupted pre-seasons and have been away from the team a couple of weeks.”
“Of course, they want to represent Arsenal, and they want to pull on the shirt and connect with the fans in the competitive games, and they will,” Slegers said. “So what we’ve been talking about is the patience and the importance of everyone in the squad. It’s a marathon, it’s a long season, and we’re going to need everyone.”
Slegers recently called for an increase to the WSL match day squad. Another summer signing, Lisa Baum, has had a bright start to her Arsenal career, starting against both Brighton Hove and Albion and Crystal Palace and scoring on her Women’s Super League debut.
“She’s in a great place and can still improve her repeatability,” Slegers said. “She was a really good player for us on the pitch against Crystal Palace.”
“We have everyone in a great position,” Slegers said.We have good fitness and we have a lot of quality — and we think over time it’s going to benefit us. We’re also now going into short turnarounds with midweek Champions League games.”
Slegers said there are many factors she considers when selecting a match-day squad, including physical readiness and player profile.
“It’s the hardest part of my job at the moment,” Slegers said.
Katie Reid, Daphne Van Domselaar, and Michelle Agyeman are still out with injuries. Slegers confirmed that new signing Elisa De Almeida is also unavailable due to injury.
Providing an update on Van Domselaar’s ongoing absence, Slegers said that October is a target for her return and that the goalkeeper “is working hard in the background with the medical team.”
Arsenal’s upcoming opponents, Manchester United, are still searching for their first league points following an opening weekend defeat to London City Lionesses and a catastrophic loss to Chelsea. Both of the league matches between Arsenal and United finished in scoreless draws last season.
“I can imagine they’re not happy with the start of their season,” Slegers said. “We know it will be a very competitive game against United on Saturday.”
Arsenal face Manchester United at The Emirates on Saturday 20th September at 5:30pm.
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