Arsenal boss and Barclays Manager of the Month Renée Slegers told media Victoria Pelova could return to first-team action in Sunday’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against West Ham.
The midfielder ruptured her ACL in June 2024 and recently appeared for the U21s – she is now back in first-team contention, though one other player is unavailable.
Slegers also insisted the league title is still within Arsenal’s reach – despite sitting in third and ten points behind Chelsea.
Slegers confirmed everyone is in contention for Sunday, including Pelova, except Lotte Wubben-Moy. The England international had to withdraw from Sarina Wiegman’s squad for recent fixtures against Portugal and Spain, along with fellow Gunner Beth Mead. While Mead is ready to return, Wubben-Moy is not and no timeline has been provided for her recovery.
Embed from Getty ImagesArsenal’s squad has emerged from the international window otherwise unscathed. Reflecting on the break, Slegers said: “We had five players away in the SheBelieves Cup. They’re very professional and the Americans and Australians do it almost every international break. They have to go to another continent and they know how to deal with themselves. We do everything we can to get them back to the rhythm here again, these hours that we get is to get them ready and then there’s still decision-making, but they’ve done it before. They know how to deal with it.
“It’s always good to see other teams play and see how international teams are set up and the trends in international football and how they use our players. There are learnings for us and I want to have a good understanding of what our players are doing when they’re away for when they come back and we can connect on that.”
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Gunners now focus on Sunday’s opponents, West Ham, who sit eighth in the table. Arsenal emerged with a 2-0 win in their last meeting, though it took until Mariona Caldentey’s 71st-minute penalty to break the deadlock.
“I think they’re going to make it very hard for us, which they did in the away game as well. I think they have their identity as a team, they’re looking to find their identity and they’re coming closer and closer. What they will do is close down spaces and try to threaten us in different ways and I think it’s going to be a hard game, so we have to be on top.”
Arsenal have won the double in terms of Barclays WSL trophies for February, with Slegers named Manager of the Month and Caldentey picking up the player prize. The Gunners went unbeaten in February, beating Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, with Caldentey scoring in each.
Embed from Getty ImagesReacting to the pair of awards, Slegers said:“Happy with the wins that we got in that month and there’s a lot of hard work. I always want to share. Anything we win is shared between people that are working here, so both players and staff, because I think you can’t do anything by yourself.
“[Mariona] has given us so much. Technically and tactically, her intelligence is really high level. Her work ethic is unbelievable. She is a winner. I think she spreads that really nicely in the team and so she’s given us that next level. Other players are bringing a lot of good things as well.”
The Gunners have a packed calendar coming up, with an FA Cup quarterfinal against Liverpool next weekend and a two-legged UEFA Women’s Champions League tie with Real Madrid on top of their WSL fixtures. They are third and ten points adrift of leaders Chelsea with eight games remaining, but Slegers insisted the title is still in reach.
“We need to believe that, and I do.
“We have a very exciting block, full of opportunities ahead of us, and we’re going to try and take those opportunities, and that’s within our control. Everything that the others do, we can’t control. But we’re going to try what we can do in these four games.”
Arsenal will face West Ham at Meadow Park on Sunday at 17:30 (GMT).
