Renée Slegers has lamented the fact that Arsenal ‘ didn’t capitalise’ when on top against London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.

Arsenal hit the post twice in the first half before conceding to Chelsea through an Alyssa Thompson strike at Stamford Bridge. It was a blow that Arsenal would not recover from on the day with Chelsea running out 1-0 victors.

Slegers spoke to the media following defeat at Chelsea and The Halfway Line was there to hear from her.

Arsenal ‘didn’t capitalise’ when on top laments Renée Slegers

For much of the first half Arsenal were comfortably the better side, but in a familiar script to Arsenal this term they would still concede after an error playing out from the back. Renée Slegers talked through her view of the encounter,

“In a game like this, [with] two strong teams going against each other,” Slegers said. “When you have momentum and when you have pressure on, you probably need to score because you know that it will swing when it is two good teams.

“We didn’t capitalise on those moments. I think we had two on the post, Kim [Little] and Mariona [Caldentey].

“So then they get a goal I think it’s between 30 to 40 minutes and I think after that in the second half, it’s harder for us and it becomes more equal, I think they get more time on the ball as well.

“We didn’t get as much pressure on as we did in the first half. I still think the game is open but if you look at the amount of shots and the amount of blocked shots and not on target, of course we need to be better in front of them.”

Slegers likened Alyssa Thompson’s goal to the one conceded against Manchester United, where Georgia Stanway’s loose pass was punished,

“I think [it’s] similar to the United goal” Slegers said. “It’s a moment where we turn over the ball in a low area on the pitch and opposition capitalises on it.

“So, you know, you always feel when that happens, it’s in your hands and in your control. So that’s that’s disappointing, of course.

“At the same time, I think on the other side, we caused some or created some turnovers for Chelsea as well, but we didn’t capitalise on those moments. So, yeah, something we will look at, of course.”

Renée Slegers clarifies bench confusion

At one point in the match there was confused discussion in the press box as Kim Little appeared to ask ‘am I a six now?’ toward the bench after a flurry of subs. Slegers was asked to clarify what happened at that point,

“That happened at the same time as Foxy [Emily Fox] went down” Slegers calmly explained. “We had to then change shape for one minute to then go and get back to shape after that minute when we were one player down.

“So that was the discussion and it maybe looked more than it was because we just had to get them the message as quickly as possible and the players had to understand from within the pitch.

“So there were two different messages. What was happening now and was happening after that.”

Slegers happy with ‘threats’ Lisa Baum provides

A bright spark for Arsenal both today and so far this season, has been German youngster Lisa Baum. Slegers was asked about why Baum is regularly being replaced rather than playing the full 90,

“She has been amazing and she was really good today” affirmed Slegers. “She gave a lot of threats and I think she was really, really good. The physical loads in that position is really high.

“I don’t think I can share any other details in this room. But yeah, there’s reasons why we take her off but she’s been really, really good for us.”

Renée Slegers ‘believes’ in Arsenal players

With Arsenal sitting seventh in the table, Slegers was asked if she was worried about the player’s confidence after a disappointing start to the season,

“Worried, no” said Slegers. “Confidence is something that fluctuates. They know who they are and they know what they can bring. And what’s important is there’s always phases in the season and there’s different things you need to work on or focus on.

“And of course, like I just said, it’s important that we keep any pressure and any complexity away from the players because we believe in them and they can be ruthless in front of goal and they can score.

“So it’s just really important that we keep that simplicity and clear heads, clear minds for the players.”