Arsenal manager Renée Slegers says the Gunners ‘look forward to the challenge’ ahead of Women’s Super League meeting with Leicester City.
The Gunners host the Foxes at Emirates Stadium tomorrow night, as they gear up to face Olympique Lyonnais on Saturday for the first leg of their UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final.
Arsenal face several injury concerns as they approach a crucial week in their season, with Slegers confirming that Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo are both “touch and go” for Tuesday night’s fixture. “Tomorrow might come too early, but then we’ll have to reassess for Saturday,” the head coach suggested.
Clarifying the extent of Daphne van Domselaar’s foot injury, the manager said it is “On the long end, it could be six weeks.” The goalkeeper is being monitored by specialists day by day, stated the head coach, who also explained that Lotte Wubben-Moy has returned to training, and Laia Codina continues to be monitored.
Scheduling needs to be ‘smart and careful’
The Halfway Line asked Slegers whether she thought there should be a conversation about bringing forward the April international break, in light of injuries picked up by several WSL players whilst they were duty or upon their returns. The men’s side of the game opted to do this since the window falls at the very crux of the season.
“It’s too early for me to say something here now, but it’s definitely something that we constantly need to look at. How are we loading the players at what moment in the season are they going away? When are the tournaments planned? There’s more and more asked of the players. There’s more and more competitions, more and more games. So, we have to be really smart and careful.”
Arsenal fans ‘give us an extra edge’
Arsenal play twice at the Emirates Stadium this week, and have made the ground something of a fortress in recent months, running out 4-0 winners over Liverpool and 3-0 over Real Madrid in their last two matches at the North London stadium.
Slegers told The Halfway Line, “We love playing at the Emirates. Everything is there for us. It’s all set up for us to perform. We love it there, and I think what the fans can bring it at the Emirates, it gives us an extra edge. It’s so inspirational and motivational for the players to come out there and play, because they feel so much support.”
Turning her attention to the Foxes, Slegers asserted, “They have a lot to play for, Leicester. It’s going to be a challenge for us, because I think the way they they press and the player-for player system at moments, we’ll have to be really good on the ball to be able to beat that. And then they have a little bit of threat up front as well that we have to manage during the game. We look forward to it. We look forward to the challenge.”
