Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers has hailed Alessia Russo as the complete footballer after the striker nabbed a North London derby hat-trick.
Arsenal emphatically sealed North London derby day bragging rights with a 5-2 victory at the Emirates. Alessia Russo goals were complimented by second half strikes from Caitlin Foord and Stina Blackstenius.
After the victory Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers spoke to the media and The Halfway Line was there to hear from her.
Slegers praise ‘reflective’ Russo working closely with Kelly Smith
Since the turn of the year Alessia Russo has looked a sharper finisher in front of goal. Today was the epitome of that scoring a hat-trick in the North London derby. Tim Stillman from Arseblog news asked Slegers about how Arsenal have helped squeeze that added performance out of Russo,
“I think what we try to create is an environment where players and people can grow and Alessia [Russo] is definitely doing that,” Slegers affirmed. “She takes a lot of ownership. She’s very reflective.”
“She works closest with Kelly Smith, so they talk through the detail, and also have a lot of conversations about mindset going into games. So yeah, but she’s in a great place, Alessia, but I think the whole squad is.
“She’s a fantastic finisher. I think you saw the goal the other night where she takes that touch and the finish of the volley and three goals today, she’s one of the best finishers I’ve seen. And there’s so many other things to her game. So she’s such a complete footballer.”
Renée Slegers says ‘it’s so good’ to have Caitlin Foord back
Caitlin Foord came off the bench after returning from the Asia Cup disappointed having not taken the trophy with her. Foord impressed off the bench a scored Arsenal’s fourth goal, The Halfway Line asked Slegers to speak on Foord’s character,
“Yeah, it was really important to get her going again for us, and she’s such an important player for us,” Slegers said. “And, yeah, happy with the goal for her. I think it’s a great cross for Smilla [Holmberg]. Foordy reads that well, controls well, and then finishes really well.
“I’m just really happy for her. I think it goes without saying how resilient Caitlin Foord is. I think you can see it in the way she plays in football. She’s constantly working, [it’s] so good to have her back.”
Laura Howard from the Gooner Fanzine followed up with Slegers, asking how Foord and Steph Catley had been supported since returning to the group,
“I think the team takes so good care of each other, so that’s been great,” Slegers smiled. “I think they were sat in my office when the rest of the squad was coming back in, and I got totally ignored. So everyone’s jumping on Caitlin [Foord] and Steph [Catley] and that says it all.
“So they take really good care of each other, and they understand where they come from and how that was hurting Steph and Caitlin. But then they also brought them back into what we do and the excitement around what we’re doing. So now they’ve reintegrated very quickly.”
Van Domselaar was ‘ready’ says Slegers
A surprising selection from Slegers saw Daphne van Domselaar start her first match since February ahead of Anneke Borbe. The Halfway Line asked Slegers about her thinking behind that decision,
“[It was] to have as many players ready as possible,” Slegers explained. “That’s the ideal scenario for us. So that [starting DvD] was important for that as well. And she was ready.
“She’s been training consistently and she’s been looking good. So yeah, we have a squad, and we have a goalkeeper situation where we have a lot of quality, so I’m just really happy with that.”
