Arsenal are through to the Subway League Cup semi-final after a 4-0 win over Brighton in Crawley on Wednesday night thanks to second half goals from Frida Maanum, Katie McCabe, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Mariona. Renee Slegers spoke to the press post match. The first three questions are from Arseblog News.
On the subs bringing more familiarity to the Arsenal performance in the second half…
I really think similar to our game against Palace on Sunday, we had new players on the pitch today, even though they train with each other every day it is still different to play a competitive quarter-final in the cup. Brighton asks a lot of questions, they are one of the most interesting teams to play against. They press in certain ways and you have to solve their press and you have to be very strong and patient in our minds mostly, because of the way they press and the way we have to position ourselves and problem solve.
But also their build and their rotations and the numbers they lower, we have to solve that as well. It takes a lot of investment mentally and cognitively from the girls. What we did well in the first half was solving what we needed to do especially in the press. We get the solution right and we get the information out and we solve it on the pitch.
That helps us in the second half and the players coming on in the second half changes things and we change a couple of things. But we also break them down in the first half because they hardly create anything and the work the girls do in the first half makes the players coming on in the second half decide the game for us.
On taking care over Brighton’s switches of play…
We couldn’t keep them on one side like we wanted to because of the extra numbers they invested, so we had to invest extra numbers too with a midfielder. When we solved that, we kept them in that space much better than in the first 30 minutes where we didn’t have that extra player to press.
On whether Laura Wienroither will still be at the club at the end of the transfer window…
At the moment, yes. But we won’t comment on anything about the transfer window.
On Lia Walti coming off with an injury…
It was a precaution she felt something so we decided to take her off. We knew Kim was fit and we wanted to share the game between them anyway, just a precaution.
On whether the win was a statement…
We are happy to go through to the semi final against Manchester City, we want to be active in four competitions and we needed to win today to do that and I am very happy with how girls do it. I complemented them on the work they do day in, day out and on the training pitch, meetings and in the gym. We work a lot with problem solving and creating momentum and you see that work coming back against Crystal Palace and today. I am very happy for the investments they do day in day out and that leads to them performing like this, solving problems and keeping clean sheets.
On scoring three games in quick succession…
It has to do a little with what we work on with momentum shifts, when momentum shifts how do you manage momentum shifts in the game and make it shift in your favour. We had very good momentum already before the 1-0 especially after the 1-0 so that is when you want to keep on capitalising and that is what the girls did really well.
On another packed away end on a cold Wednesday evening…
They travel here, it is cold and a weekday and they probably have jobs and school and other things in life and they invest time to support us and sing the whole game through. They were patient too because we didn’t score until 65 minutes so we are very grateful to have those fans travelling with us.
On Mariona’s impact as a sub…
She is a very intelligent player and we spoke about spaces in attack and playing to other player’s strengths and using the players around her and that was basically it. The final message was to go on and bring the energy and make the impact and that is what she did. We just said a few key bits but she is so intelligent, she creates so many good situations on the pitch.
On Cooney-Cross’ goal…
We do finishing competitions at the end of training sometimes and just before Christmas she was always winning. We see that in training all the time.
On the importance of going into the Chelsea game with two good results and clean sheets…
I think it is really important we are performing well and keeping those clean sheets because the players are rewarded for the work they do, their motivation levels go even higher and they see the rewards and how fun it is. So that leaves us in good shape for Sunday but also for the rest of the season.
On being able to make so many changes in defence and keep a clean sheet…
We are lucky to have this squad, Lotte and Laia Codina didn’t start against Crystal Palace but they are very good centre-backs so we are in a very lucky position to have all these players. Anyone who goes onto the pitch, we trust them to do it because we see them in training every day and we know how good they are.
On how they approach problem solving in training…
Training doesn’t look different, it is more in the meetings how we engage them, how we ask them questions. It could be that on matchday minus one we grab a couple of players before the meeting and say ‘hey this is how they set up on their goal kicks, this is the one setup this is the second, what would you do? What are your thoughts?’ That is how we try to activate them, not only because we want their engagement but also because they have really good ideas. That is one way we do in meetings. On the pitch we focus on communication and how communication is good for our performance momentum and we allow them in the breaks in training to interact with each other. We have strict intervals and resting times but sometimes we give them extra when we see there are really good discussions going on in big or small groups.
1.Zinsberger; 62.Reid (2.Fox ‘56), 3.Wubben-Moy, 5.L.Codina (6.Williamson ‘78), 11.McCabe(c); 13.Walti (10.Little ‘45), 32.Cooney-Cross; 9.Mead (8.Mariona ‘56), 12.L.Maanum, 16.Kafaji; 23.Russo (25.Blackstenius ‘78)
Unused: 7.Catley, 14.van Domselaar, 19.Foord, 26.Wienroither
So Laura Wienroither might be up for transfer? I’m surprised, because I think she can play LB as well but I guess the club are also factoring in Amanda Ilestedt’s return? Anyway. I like RS’s boldness. I love that she went for it with all the changes to the starting lineup. It wasn’t us at our best, but it worked. While we looked a bit ponderous and clunky, I was never worried that we would concede. And lots of players have another 60-90 minutes of playing time under their belt. I always understand her substitutions – I see why she… Read more »
I doubt Laura would go without someone else coming in.
My thinking was that the someone else coming in is Amanda Ilestedt and Katie Reid would be the backup RB rather than either going on loan or being backup CB?
Yes very interesting if she were to leave. It’s a shame, I would’ve likye to see more of her. I felt she offered lots that Maritz didn’t (very strong in duels for instance). However Fox is such a great all round footballer, and seemingly has endless stamina, so it’s going to be hard for anyone else to get a look in. (I don’t really consider Reid as a viable option at RB longer term, so I hope this is just her getting some minutes and development out of it.)
Agreed on all points – and just for what it’s worth, Wienroither (or Tiny Tank as I have discovered is her nickname) must be the strongest Arsenal Women player I’ve ever seen! Pound for pound, I mean.
My feeling is Laura is a good defender but driving forward like Emily does, and to a lesser extent even Katie has tried to do in her limited minutes, is not her natural game. Her first thought appears to be trap the ball and play it sideways or backwards. Now I may be unfair in my synopsys as we have only really seen Laura operating under Jonas’ instructions which, as we know, made a team capable of playing fast, flowing football look static and ponderous. So it would be good if we saw Laura in a Renee inspired team but… Read more »
Yes, true and also perhaps RS (like JE) likes a RB who can also invert and operate as a midfielder and that is not Laura W’s game either. So perhaps the thinking is to move Wienroither on/send her on loan to regain her fitness prior to a summer departure, while Katie Reid takes on the role of backup and gets game time that way. With Ilestedt, LWM and Codina, adding KR in is a lot of CBs! It will do KR good to learn the RB position and it means we keep her close and involved. RS loves versatile players,… Read more »
A beautifully played game. Using the first half to find the weakness’ of the opponent and then exploiting them in the second half. It was wonderful to see Lotte starting and she is up there with Leah as a defender; every time I see her play she shows her worth, she is a first team player but then so are the whole squad. Also good to see Katie Reid getting playing time and seeming to fit in so well. The big challenge is on Sunday, if we can beat Chelsea at the Bridge then we know that there is nothing… Read more »
I don’t think Lotte has Leah’s vision although her accuracy of distribution is very good. Different type of player, they work brilliantly together and I thought LWM played even better when she was paired with Leah.
Agreed, they are different players. Lotte has tried to learn the distribution side of her game because she can then deputise for Leah but I don’t think it comes naturally like it does for Leah. The pair together make a good partnership but then how to integrate Laia, Amanda and now even Steph assuming Katie shall be understudy to Emily.
Only Stina and Russo as 9 on the team? I’m worried about Russo, she has a bandage on her knee, I thought she wouldn’t start this game and Stina would. There is only one Stina and one Russo who play totally different from each other.
My fantasy signing would be Marie-Antoinette Katoto. Not instead of Stina and Lessi, as well as.
If we find the winger we need Meado is the 9! It’s where she is best suited and the reason she got pushed out wide has now left so I don’t understand why she cannot go back to her natural position.
Meado hasn’t played as a 9 for years. She was moved to accommodate a better player in that position and she hasn’t exactly failed to shine as a wide forward. Ballon d’Or runner-up and BBC Footballer of the year 2022, star of England’s Euro triumph! Hatfuls of goals and assists.
I would be delighted if she can move back to the centre, but I’m not going to set my face against a younger, more prolific finisher in that position. We’ll have to see if RS sees Beth Mead as a 9 or not.
Yes Miss Marple! Surely given her scoring record in a Sunderland shirt playing 9 is like riding a bike; you don’t forget how to do it!
In this match she only once beat the full back on the outside, and that was on the left. I’m not sure if she even tried to do it on the right. I don’t think she is now an out-and-out winger; nevertheless she still contributes in many other ways. I wonder whether playing her in front of an inexperienced right back was deliberate as she’s very good at doing her defensive duties. And then she and Katie R were substituted at the same time.
Keep up the great work, Tim