It’s a special return for assistant coach Renee Slegers as she joins Arsenal Women's backroom staff, having spent time at our academy as a young player.
The 34-year-old coach spent her playing career in the Netherlands and Sweden and racked up 55 caps for the Dutch national side, before switching to the dugout.
Here's everything Renee had to say in her first interview...
on joining Arsenal as an assistant coach...
“It’s fantastic. I’ve played actually in the Arsenal Academy when I was 17 years old, so for me of all clubs in England, Arsenal is a special place.
“When I talked to Jonas and he told me about the club and what he's building, and when I look at the squad, the facilities, it's fantastic to be here.”
on the memories she has from her time at Arsenal as a young player...
“I actually took a walk through Oaklands College last Sunday when we had a day off and all the memories came back. We were living at the college with the other girls and we had a lot of things we did together.
"We went to school together, Alex Scott was one of the teachers in sports psychology, and Kelly Smith was an assistant coach. So I know her from back then and of course, the first team was very successful in those years.
"I remember watching Champions League games and got very impressed by how the first team played when I was a young girl. So yeah, just good memories.”
on why she wanted to join the club as a coach...
“Arsenal's historically a very big club, both men's but especially on the women's side. The league is growing really fast - it's very competitive.
"I’ve worked with Jonas before, so I know what he wants to do and what he wants to build. There are a lot of similarities and I was really excited to contribute. And then also looking at the quality of the squad, it’s fantastic."
on how she reflects on her time as a coach at Rosengard...
“A lot of learnings. Of course, you learn in the successful moments. We had a lot of successes which I take with me such as, how do you win?
"But also I've learned from moments that were hard and tough and I think that's when you learn the most. So, a lot of takeaways from my time in Rosengard and I had a really good time there.”
on the areas she'll be working across...
“I will be one of the assistants to Jonas, but my focus will be more on the individual basis. So I'll be working with the girls on their individual plans and development plans around training and games.
"I will try to feedback to them as much as I can to help them in their process."
on joining the club just as we face her ex-team, Linkoping...
“It's a special feeling. In many ways, this is a special couple of days for me. But I'm mostly excited to start working at Arsenal and playing the game tomorrow in this arena is, of course, extra special.”
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