Renee Slegers sat down for her post-match press conference at Joie Stadium after a thrilling encounter against Manchester City.
After steering our team to a 4-3 success, she was asked all about the performance and more.
Here’s what she had to say on the following subjects.
on how we were trying to stop City from finding chances to switch the play:
Manage spaces better in midfield and also to not get into too much detail, but they have a couple of key players who got onto the ball and they use a lot of playing forward and then backwards to switch, stopping those mechanisms with the players on the pitch.
on how important Lia Walti was:
She's got great leadership on the pitch, she's a very good communicator, she covers a lot of space and she reads the game really well. She was definitely what we needed today. We often speak about game-changers from an attacking point of view, on attacking positions, but she was definitely a game-changer for us from a midfield perspective today.
on whether Stina would’ve started even with everyone available:
Yeah, that's a scenario we didn't have at the moment, of course, because we didn't have so many attackers available today, so this was definitely the best set-up and it worked well today. But we know that Stina has been very effective against Man City before, so as soon as there's a lot of space behind opposition lines and players that want to step forward, then it's always good to have Stina on the pitch.
on showing we can bounce back after defeat to Chelsea:
No, it was important. I was hurt, of course, after the loss against Chelsea and we analysed and I went to myself and said, who are we, what's the Arsenal way, what's our identity and how are we going to be winning games, which we have been doing really well, but against a top opposition. The girls were all with us on that and we spoke about it and I think we did something very well against Bristol with a lot of changes and early goals in that game as well and I think we do it today again. So obviously it was important for us, even though Chelsea was a tight game and it was decided by a penalty, so it wasn't the end of the world from a performance perspective, but obviously the loss of the three points meant a lot for us. But I'm happy that we can and I think the group is so strong at the moment, also from game to game, which we haven't proven yet, like you say, but also within games how we can show resilience and whatever phase we're in or whatever event that happens in a game, we can come back and that's what we did today again.
on if passing sequences are central to our identity:
Yeah, passing is central, patience is central, we want to problem solve, we want to press, so there's quite some things in there. So I think the different types of goals that we scored today are all part of the Arsenal way, but the Arsenal way is not only our football, it's also who we are as human beings and as a group.
on the controversial penalty decision:
Yeah, we had video on the bench and it looks like it happens outside the box. So yeah, that's the situation. They get a penalty, but I'm mostly happy with how we come back from that situation.
on if we saw how Manchester United pressed Manchester City in their derby game:
Yeah, definitely we saw that game, but we have our way and our strengths in our players, so we didn't copy-paste what United did. So we wanted to play to our strengths, so we get the early goal straight away from a pressing situation, which was very good. But then on the other side, we're critical of our defensive game in the first half later on because we invite them back into the game and there was a couple of details we wanted to do better. That's everyone, staff and players. So it's good. They're on a very high level, the players. They want to be better and they want to problem-solve things together with us and that's what we did today. So yeah, that's definitely a big part of how we want to play, is the press and defensive solidity.
on how important three three points are for Champions League qualification:
Yeah, super important, yeah.
on if today’s error is another example of why we should have VAR in the WSL?
Yeah, I think in general we want to grow the women's game and so all aspects are important and then it's not up to me but up to the people who work with the strategies for women's football and football in general to see what's best. But all I say is that there's a lot at stake and you see it in the men's game and that's growing in the women's game now as well. So I think fair play and fair decisions are important in our game at the moment as well.
on how good we were at responding to setbacks:
No, that's what I'm very happy with. I think the girls are on a very high level at the moment in how you manage those momentum shifts in games and big events influence those shifts. But I saw a great determination today as well and they've been doing that well for a while now. They did well changing it back around and staying composed and not letting emotions take over. But I saw some extra determination in the girls which was very good to see.
on if this felt like a must win game for both teams:
I think both teams felt that. We didn't speak about it with the girls. We just spoke about we want the Arsenal way to lead to winning so nothing specific for this game. But I think City, of course, playing at home against us and they're sweating so I think the pressure was there for them. But in general it's two very good footballing teams playing against each other so that's why the game becomes like this.
on if we need to cut out errors in possession:
We back players because we want to be brave on the ball so we back players and sometimes errors will happen. We just have to make sure that we know where on the pitch they happen and I think what we're going to have a look at is how we position ourselves better on the ball when we're in our own half so we create a little bit better and bigger margins for ourselves when we play.
on how impressive the mentality was away from home:
Yeah, I know exactly that and I think the girls are growing on that so they're on a very high level when it comes to resilience in the game, managing different phases of the game, managing different events that happen in the game that you can't always control so I think I'm just very proud of how they take this game on because we get a really good start in the game and how we finish the game with everything that happens during those 90 minutes.
on Caitlin Foord:
Yeah, she was on pitch today so there was a minor issue that we had to manage but she was on pitch today so she's really coming closer to becoming a part of the squad again.
on Chloe Kelly’s availability:
She's fit, she's trained. We just had the regulation so she won't be able to feature for us against City on Thursday and not against London City either. So, her first possible game to make is against Spurs. She's cup tied in the FA Cup.
on players coming back from injury and depth in the squad:
Yeah, definitely, we're very happy with the squad. I think both Jenna and Chloe coming in, they make us better, they make us stronger, they make us more versatile and they give us more options. So we're very happy with the squad.
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