Fresh from an international break that saw our squad rack up goals, assists and wins, Renee Slegers wants to capitalise on that momentum for this next block of games.
Speaking in her pre-Manchester United press conference, our interim head coach was full of praise for our team's work with their national teams.
"If you look at the whole squad and what they've done over the international block, we've had a lot of players assisting, scoring, with great performances. So overall, it was a very good international window for Arsenal.
"Going back to when I was a player, I always loved going to the national team, because you love representing your country and at the same time your club as well. A change of environment, new faces, new people - it can give positive injections, so I think it was a very positive international window for our players.
Renee was also asked specifically about Leah Williamson, whose goal for England against South Africa was her first since suffering an ACL injury in 2023.
"It was a fair hit for her! I spoke to her this morning. A lot of emotion came out as well after that goal, so I’m very happy for her."
"It was 13 weeks of pre-season into block one, so it was a very long time together. I think for everyone, myself included, it’s always nice to change pace, environment, get new insights, and meet new people. That’s always inspiring and you learn new things, so I think it was good for everyone.
"Being in the moment, everyone needs to take ownership of what we’re doing together. The togetherness of everyone - all staff and players - we can all impact our successes. Those are the main three things that we’ve been talking about. We try to bring energy, bring togetherness as much as we can, if it’s on the pitch, off the pitch, in the meetings, or in the lunch room. Celebrate small successes and try to build momentum off of that."
Whilst our opponents may assume this transitional period is the perfect opportunity to pounce, Renee was very quick to dismiss that notion.
"I can imagine how you can look at it from the outside. We know what’s happening on the inside and we’ve seen a lot of positive things. The two games before the international window and the individual performances during the international block were very strong.
"Today’s training was one of our best training sessions, so we’re very positive about what’s ahead of us, but we know a lot of hard work and ownership is going to be needed."
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