Arsenal were 3-1 winners over Valarenga in Oslo on Thursday evening with a brace from Alessia Russo and a goal from Frida Maanum, Valarenga grabbed a late consolation. Renee Slegers spoke to the press post-match, the first five questions are from Arseblog News.
On rotating the team…
I’m very happy with that. I think different phases of the season need different things.
And like last week, we needed consistency and we were doing really well with that. But now different things are being asked of us and games very tightly coming after each other, but also the opposition that we’re playing against today and what kind of players do we need on the pitch. So I think all by all the decisions we made and the players prepping themselves so well to be able to perform like this together, because like you say, there’s new partnerships on the pitch.
I think the way the players have invested in their preparation is on a very high level, so I’m happy with that.
On the journey since the first Valarenga game…
I felt at least for 80 minutes, this was actually a better performance than that first one, more dominant. I always think if you compare two games, they are separate still, because it also has to do with what the opposition comes with, what they bring, the circumstances, everything. So I think it’s hard to compare, but obviously I’m really happy with the process we’re in and how we’ve been developing.
I think today all phases of the game we deal with really well. I think obviously the last 10, 15, we lose some structure and dominance and we have to defend our goal a little bit more. But I think overall, the first 75 minutes, we do really well in all phases of the game.
On Russo’s finishing…
I think it’s more a symptom of confidence. But what we work with is to try to be unpredictable and finish from different attacks. And I think that’s one of the parts I’m happy with today. We attack from wide areas. We have some central combinations.
We have fast attacks, but then we also have those crosses and shots from that middle between central and wide. So I’m really happy with the variety we’re putting ourselves or setting ourselves up to.
On giving Katie Reid her first Arsenal start…
She is a centre-back, but she’s been coming on for us a couple of times in the right-back position. She trains on the right-back position for us as well. And over time, when we see her in our training environment, we think she does really well. The qualities we wanted on the pitch today was physicality, speed as well in the back line.
And the way we build, we’re often three in the build. And that’s where Katie came down in the kind of centre-back position. So I think the plan we had for the right-back position today fitted Katie really well.
And we trusted her to do it for us.
On the artificial pitch …
We trained here yesterday, and the girls had a really good session. So they got used to the artificial grass. We played Hacken away this season as well. So we’ve done it a couple of times pre-season as well. And I think the girls were quite determined to not let that be an issue for us. Let’s control what we can control.
This is the surface we play on. And I think they dealt with it really well today. The cold in England also gets windy and rainy, which goes straight through your body.
So this is a different type of cold. But no, I don’t think it was an issue for us today. It was good today.
On the atmosphere …
We heard them [the Arsenal fans] So they were singing. And yeah, it brings so much atmosphere. And it brings this little extra percent of heat that helps them push themselves. Yeah, it’s fantastic.
Really good win given the rotation and how difficult it is to beat Valarenga on their own turf, the weather, and the artificial turf. However, really ticked off with the goal we conceded. Which brings me to my points. We’ve conceded in 3 games in the Ucl this season. Home and away vs Valarenga and away vs Bayern. The one constant in all 3 games was Codina starting. I’m sorry but I just can never trust a Lotte and Codina combination. They both have the same ‘I can do something crazy at anytime’ syndrome. We controlled the game almost all… Read more »
Of course Manu should have plucked their goal shot out of the air with one hand whilst blindfolded . Jeez. Inevitable that some nobody has to have a pitch about her.
Of course that was the only thing you picked. There were two other attempts she stood absolutely still for too. It’s funny that it’s always when Manu is in goal that this happens and we have all sorts of excuses for her.
She also managed to hand Valarenga a golden opportunity with a poor pass. The concept of a smooth and straight forward game is always lost when Manu, Lotte, and Codina are on the team. Always a mistake or two amongst them. That’s my point.
I’ve just looked at their goal again – it really was a great, unstoppable strike from Tilde Lindwall. (Those of my age will remember the great Australian fast bowler Ray Lindwall; never realised his family had Swedish origins).
I hold my hand up to being one of Manu’s biggest critics but even I cannot blame her for that goal. Would the Doomslayer have reached it? I don’t know but credit where its due it was a fantastic strike. Our error was not dealing with the melee in the left corner of our box that resulted in the crossed ball reaching Lindwall.
The trait she has of standing there watching the ball go past, whether it goes in or not is not a good one for a goalkeeper. The goal may not have been saveable but it was not the only occasion during the game she stood and watched the ball and it’s not the first match that’s happened in either. It’s clear Renee favours DVD and outside of injury Manu may see her game time diminish.
This is exactly why many of us are citical of Manu and the problem is she has not learnt after many seasons. There was one shot that fizzed past the post and she just stood there and watched. If it had have been inside the post that would have been another goal against us. The Doomslayer would have been at full stretch and made sure it stayed out and that is the difference. For some reason, Jonas thought Manu was world class but under Renee the truth is quite evident. We have an able young back up keeper in the… Read more »
You it’s not a crime to just be happy 😺
Comfortable away game here, a great opportunity to see the squad players and keep them involved. Valarenga struggled to offer much offensively so the back four not hugely tested. Reid and McCabe spent more time in the final third than there own half. If Reid could develop her crossing and final ball into the box she might be a more regular back option for Fox, a possible easier route into getting minutes than at CB. Mariona as a deep lying midfielder against the low/mid blocks is a nice recent tactical development, it’ll be interesting whether we see that continue going… Read more »
Thought Katie Reid was superb on her first start. Sure there will be tougher opposition but we looked weaker when she was withdrawn. She even had the confidence to play some fantastic through balls and take a long range shot rather than merely playing sideways to more senior players.
Congratulations! Bayern next, but now we’re in form.
We solved the problem of the synthetic grass 😅, this unpredictability that Jonas was trying to build, but it wasn’t working, why? We don’t know, now it’s in the past, it’s time to move forward and continue the work that is being done well now. Congratulations on the victory Arsenal ladies.
We lost a lot of control after Mariona and then KCX went off, but my goodness it was wonderful to see the heavily rotated team do so well. I get the impression that RS saw the minutes we played without KCX and Mariona as a test and we did panic a bit, but ultimately pulled ourselves together. Unless Bayern is a disaster class performance-wise, RS should be appointed before the transfer window so that we have stability for RS, for the squad and for any incoming players. (It’s a sign of how well RS has done that I don’t feel… Read more »
Agree! Renee has the team and the fans onside at the moment and there is no guarantee that will remain the case by bringing someone else in. If we get a result Wednesday the job has to be hers! Draught her contract already!
It’s that situation, regardless of the result against Bayer, if Arsenal wants to continue the project, she has to be hired, RS already knows the style of play, already knows the culture of the Club, it’s about continuing, WSL and NWSL clubs are running out of coaches, and it’s certainly generating interest from these teams, don’t repeat the same mistake with what they did with Emma Hayes, this is the opportunity, offer a contract that can reconcile the right to exercise being a mother and work.
My main comment is in the waiting room but basically, give that woman the job. I wanted to add: Assuming nothing goes horribly wrong in the next 7 days, she has done so well that if we appoint someone else, then 1) every time that coach hits a rough patch, the fans will demand to get Renée back. Potentially toxic situation through no fault of hers. 2) if RS really desperately wanted the job and was overlooked she may go somewhere else – Aston Villa have great players, lots of money and have just sacked their coach. 3) A new… Read more »
Agree 100% with your analysis.
Jonas built the team but is it is Renee that has made it work by giving the players the freedom to play to their strength. A good performance for the first 80 minutes and then things got a little bit haywire. Tilda’s goal was unstoppable by any keeper. All in all a great performance with the team playing as a team supporting one another in attack and defence .And all in sub zero temperatures!
Although Jonas was a likeable character he was a bit of an analytical robot. He could see every flaw but had no idea of how to overcome the problems. Renee has humility and a trust in her players to do the right thing without having to programme every move into them. Therein lies the difference.
So very true, Peter. I really think that it time to offer Renee the job before someone else poaches her!
I was slow to realise that Jonas wasn’t the right person for the job. Life is full of “if onlys”, but had we replaced him sooner….. I now find it very hard to think how anyone else could be an improvement on Renée (Emma Hayes ? Wash your mouth out with soap and water!) My only worry is that we have successive away matches at Chelsea and City, 26th Jan and 2nd Feb. Lose both those and the picture changes.
I was slow to realise too.
It’s pretty clear that Renee is the person for the job – and I think it is neither helpful nor relevant, to consider the 2 forthcoming key away games in this respect.