Renée Slegers spoke to the media ahead of Arsenal’s trip to face Everton in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Friday, less than a week after the Gunners were knocked out of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup by Liverpool.
“[The game] was very disappointing. Not what we wanted, not the performance we wanted at all. [The] players were angry on Monday and we want to do better as a collective moving forward. But we can’t impact that anymore, it’s behind us and we want to look forward. That’s on Friday, a very important game against Everton in the league. We know we’re still active in the Champions League as well, so we have a big month coming up,” she told reporters.
Slegers labelled Friday’s opponents on Merseyside as “a challenging team,” adding that “they’re one of the most unpredictable tactically, so we’ll have to be prepared.”
“It was 0-0 at home. I think we did a lot of things quite well in that game. We just didn’t score. They’ve recruited new players. I think they’re strong at the moment. They’re strong at their home ground, so we know it’s a big challenge but we also believe in what we’re doing. I watched training today on the pitch and we looked like ourselves again. So that’s very positive.”
“They [Everton] change between systems. What Brian [Sorensen] is trying to do is to play them to their strengths and adjust to opposition. I think that’s a real strength of them. I think they’ve got it right now lately. But then, of course, they brought in some new players that are really contributing for them as well.”
She added: “They shift well between an aggressive press. They recognise when they want to press as a team, but they’re also very comfortable and disciplined when they defend their own goal and end up in a low block. I think that’s their strength. We have to try and break that down on Friday.”
The former Dutch international is hoping that Arsenal can bounce back from their FA Cup exit, as they have done following other disappointing results earlier this season.
“I think how we came back in-game against West Ham was very positive,” she explained. “I think this one was hard on us because we see that we leave the FA Cup competition. You could see the response from the players. They were very angry, disappointed. They wanted more. I see this in a positive way because I think those emotions and that frustration can lead to motivation. That’s what I saw today because we were off yesterday and we’re back in. I think we all look refreshed. It was one of the better sessions I’ve had so far here. The girls were determined to show something better and I am as well.”
Arsenal will face Everton away, at Walton Hall Park, on Friday at 19:00 GMT.