Renée Slegers spoke to the press today ahead of Arsenal’s Barclays Women’s Super League match against Liverpool at the Emirates on Saturday. The Gunners are having a difficult spell after being knocked out of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup by their opponents this Saturday and losing the first leg of their UEFA Women’s Champions League tie to Real Madrid.
The Halfway Line was at the Sobha Realty Training Centre to hear from Arsenal’s Dutch head coach on Friday afternoon.
‘We want good pitches for player health’
There has been a huge amount of discourse surrounding pitch quality in women’s football of late. The Subway League Cup final was played at Pride Park on a sub-par pitch while the first leg of Arsenal’s match at Real Madrid resembled more of a mud bath than a football match after torrential rain in the Spanish capital. Slegers was asked for her thoughts:
“Of course, we like to play on a good surface. I think every team does. It makes football a little bit more easy, but then it’s always going to be that two teams compete on the same surface, and we competed with Real Madrid, and both teams have to deal with it. And I think going back to that game, they were very clinical. We didn’t come up with our best performance. But we don’t blame the pitch, because we both had to deal with it, so we definitely want to do better next week.”
Slegers firmly concluded:
“We want good pitches for player health.”
‘They are a hard team to beat’ Slegers looks ahead to Liverpool challenge
In recent seasons Liverpool have troubled Arsenal, the first game of last season at the Emirates Liverpool took home a shock 1-0 win when Arsenal were under the management of Jonas Eidevall. Of course more recently with both sides managed by new head coaches Liverpool defeated Arsenal at Meadow Park. Slegers was asked for her thoughts on the challenge Liverpool represent, she responded:
“Of course, I’m impressed with what Liverpool is doing. I think Amber [Whitely] seems to have done a really good job. They’re a hard team to beat, very disciplined and work very hard in the way they play and but yeah, I think against all the position, you see opportunities, and all teams have threats. So we we try to learn from the game and nullify as much as possible what they can bring to a game. And we see opportunities for ourselves also.”
Slegers was initially appointed to the Arsenal hot seat on an interim basis, and that is a similarity she shares with current Liverpool interim head coach Amber Whitely. The Halfway Line asked Slegers if perhaps that gives her an edge, she thoughtfully replied:
“Interesting question. I think I do understand what Liverpool is going through as a team, and I do understand that that can bring them something extra. So I think it just creates an awareness inside me and inside our squad, us as a team, that this is what Liverpool is going through at the moment.
That’s where we were six months ago. So without elaborating on exactly what that is it. It just helps me being aware of what opposition might be doing and what’s happening in their camp.”
‘People can lean on her’ Slegers praises captain Kim Little
The Arsenal captain Kim Little had perhaps her best performance of the season in the difficult conditions against Real Madrid. The Halfway Line asked Slegers about how important Little is to have around the squad at the moment, she ardently responded:
“Kim is our captain. She’s a very important player for us. She’s played so many big games, she’s a role model for the rest of the squad. So I’m happy she’s with us and she’s fit and she’s contributing, and people can can lean on her. No, so that’s a big, strength of us to have Kim.
But I think everyone as a person, brings something to the team, whatever that is, you can lead and guide the team forward. So all other players can do that as well. So yeah, we have a great squad, great players and in different ways we have different leadership on the pitch.”
‘We believe in Rosa [Kafaji] now and for the future’
Rosa Kafaji is a player that some Arsenal fans have been frustrated not to see more of in the starting eleven this season. After full time in Madrid the Swede took to Instagram to seemingly express her displeasure about her lack of minutes before swiftly deleting that post.
The Halfway Line asked Slegers about what she feels Kafaji’s best position is and her thought process as to why Kafaji was not introduced off the bench with her side needing a goal. Slegers took a moment before explaining:
“She can play in all the technical positions for us. We know that she was playing as a 10 at BK Hacken when she came to us, and I think she’s very strong in that position, but I’m not saying that she can’t play in the other three attacking roles. Rosa is a great player, young player, talented player with huge potential.
At the moment, with the availability in our squad, we have so many good players available, so it’s a lot of decisions for us to make around selection and making the right decisions of players on the pitch, starting and finishing games. And we believe in Rosa for now and for the future, and sometimes young players have to have a little bit of patience and work really hard, and then the chances will come.”
‘Sometimes it’s about agreeing to disagree as well’ Slegers on team selection
After a disappointing defeat in a vital match of the season it is understandable for there to be frustration within the camp, but perhaps less understandable is the external expression of that frustration outside of the camp. Kafaji’s taking to social media was perhaps misguided but it demonstrated the desire in the squad to feature on the pitch for Arsenal and make a difference.
The Halfway Line asked Slegers about how she manages the needs and expectations of a squad, when you have a squad full of players each of whom want to feature in the important moments and matches of a season, Slegers replied:
“It’s one of the big challenges of being a manager, and then especially with the squad there’s not many squads in the world that look like this. So it’s a big challenge we try to be proactive at times. You need to manage expectations. I need to be very sharp with my decisions. I need to to see what’s happening in the group and how players react. And I think I need to be fair and honest with everyone with how I’m thinking. And then I have to commit to my ideas, and hopefully everyone commits to what we’re doing. And then not always everyone will agree, because everyone wants to play. And that’s just reality.
Sometimes it’s about agreeing to disagree as well. The big thing is I have to commit to my ideas, and I have to think short and long term. And the players are training really well, working really hard. Everyone wants it, and I think everyone should have that, that drive, wanting to play as many minutes. Because if you don’t have that drive, then you’re not getting the best out of yourself. So no it’s beautiful, it’s good to be part of this team and it’s challenging at moments, but it’s part of my job, and I have to take that as well. I’m trying to do my best to get a team in as good as possible a position to perform.”
‘Daphne van Domselaar is available’ to face Liverpool
Arsenal have been without their number one goalkeeper for a couple of matches now after Daphne van Domselaar suffered a concussion the last time Arsenal faced Liverpool. Arsenal have also been without both Lotte Wubben-Moy and Laia Codina and Slegers was able to clear up the availability of each of those players for this weekend’s match. She reported:
“So Lotte [Wubben-Moy] is not available. Daphne [van Domselaar] is available and Laia Codina still has some some issues that she’s dealing with, so she’s a question mark.”
