Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers believes the growing competitiveness of the WSL has made the League Cup tighter than ever.
Arsenal welcome Manchester United to Meadow Park this Wednesday night, as both teams look to progress to the Subway Women’s League Cup final. Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Gunners head coach Renée Slegers reflected on how matches between the leagues traditional “top four” have increasingly been decided by fine margins. With all encounters being decided by a single goal or being a draw, bar one, Slegers attributed this trend to the overall progression of teams in the league.
“The league is progressing,” Slegers explained. “All teams are getting better, they all have their identity, and they find different ways to attack and defend. It’s just on a really high level at the moment, so I’m not surprised. If you look at us against United, the last times, it’s been a draw twice this season in the league. So, no, I think it’s good that that the league is getting more competitive and its close games.”
As Slegers discussed, Arsenal have faced Manchester United twice this season, with both encounters ending in a goalless draw. Whilst pleased with her sides control in those matches, Slegers acknowledged that finding that decisive edge has been the missing ingredient for her team so far.
“Yeah, I think if you look at the games we’ve played against United, I think we, dominate the bulk quite well away” Slegers said. “But we don’t create so much. I think, at the Emirates, last time, we do create much more, but we don’t find a finishing edge or create a clear-cut chance that gives us the goal and we definitely wanted to take the next step. So, it’s going be two good teams going against each other, but there’s definitely things we’ve been looking at that we want to apply tomorrow and again.”
Slegers says Arsenal are preparing for a ‘disciplined” and ‘aggressive’ Manchester United side
The Arsenal head coach was asked about what she is expecting from Marc Skinner’s side and how they will approach the game. Slegers highlighted Manchester United’s tactical flexibility as one of their main strengths, warning that her team must be prepared to face multiple scenarios in the game.
“They do both sides [of the game] really well.” Slegers praised. “ When they press high, they’re really aggressive and they’re happy to go play for player, but also like we’ve seen, they are really good low block defending their own goal. They’re very disciplined with all eleven players so they can do both.
“Let’s see what they come out with tomorrow and listening to Marc’s press conference it sounds like they want to come out aggressive, but we’ll see. We know that they can do both things really well, so we have to be good at both, beating a high press, but also breaking down lower defences.”
‘It’s an exciting fortnight for the whole football club’ Slegers notes ahead of busy January
Slegers emphasised that despite a demanding schedule that includes a vital fixture at the weekend against London rivals Cheslea away from home, full focus remains firmly on the semi-final.
“We need full freshness and high intensity tomorrow,” the head coach said. Slegers was also keen to stress that despite the intensity of the calendar, the opportunities for Arsenal in the upcoming weeks, including participating in the inaugural Champions Cup, is an exciting time for the club, and understand the next few weeks will be crucial to how fondly people will look back on the season.
“It’s a very exciting kind of fortnight for the whole football club.”, Slegers said. “How much could this next 2 weeks, you know, shape or the positivity that the season will be viewed in, you know, when we come to the end of the campaign? Yeah, it’s exciting. Just play it in the FA Cup. going into the League Cup tomorrow after that it’s WSL [Women’s Super League] and after that we’ll play in the champions cup, so it’s different competitions all coming after each other and it’s very exciting.”
Despite a congested fixture list, Slegers stressed the importance of prioritising freshness and intensity rather than rotation for rotation’s sake.
“We’ve just played against Villa with a two-day preparation going into United, so I definitely take that into account. We need full freshness and high intensity in the game tomorrow. After that, I don’t look much further.”
Daphne van Domselaar ‘will be in the squad’ against United confirms Slegers, but Arsenal still without star defender
Slegers was able to reveal some positive team news as she confirmed that van Domselaar will return to the squad against United. She also did however confirm that this game comes too soon for Leah Williamson. “Leah [Williamson] is not in that place yet but she is progressing really well”, the Arsenal head coach confirmed.
Slegers also provided an update on Emily Fox, who was withdrawn in the FA Cup clash against Aston Villa, after sustaining a head injury. “We assessed her yesterday and today, and we just want to make really good decisions with Foxy,” said Slegers. “It’s looking likely she will be in the squad tomorrow and then we’ll assess her again tomorrow and the day after so that’s where we’re at the moment with Foxy [Emily Fox].”
Arsenal vs Manchester United kicks off at 7pm GMT, Wednesday 21st January, with it being shown live on Sky Sports + and the BBC iPlayer.
