Interim head coach Renee Slegers says Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Valerenga within the UEFA Ladies’s Champions League was a “step in the correct course” after a difficult week.
The Gunners ran out snug winners in entrance of a 6,000-strong crowd on the Emirates Stadium, getting their European marketing campaign again on observe having been dismantled 5-2 by Bayern Munich in what proved to be one among Jonas Eidevall’s final video games in cost.
Eidevall resigned as head coach on Tuesday morning, lower than 72 hours after Arsenal misplaced 2-1 to rivals Chelsea within the WSL, with Slegers tasked with main the workforce towards Valerenga.
And the previous Dutch worldwide was happy with the response from Arsenal’s gamers, crediting the group post-match for “sticking to the duty” at hand after a troublesome couple of days.
“There’s been a number of feelings,” Slegers stated. “Managing feelings and making an attempt to stay to the duty forward of us what we wanted to do to carry out.
“I am completely happy for them and it is a credit score to them as a result of additionally they bought collectively [before the game] and felt they wanted to step up and that is what you noticed on the pitch. I believe it is good that they did it.
“We ready for them being participant for participant within the press, particularly on the objective kick. We had a plan for it as a result of in case you go participant for participant, you may get 2v2, 3v3, 4v4’s on high and that is what we tried to control.
“We simply needed to discover some selection in that as a result of they began to learn the one possibility we had. If you’re profitable at bypassing, then you’ve gotten acres of house and you’ve got 1v1s. In case you’re not profitable and you’re in bother – that was the primary puzzle.”
Pressed on whether or not the win would offer Arsenal’s gamers with a much-needed confidence increase forward of the WSL conflict with West Ham, she added: “I all the time assume confidence is such a tough factor to speak about. What precisely is confidence?
“I believe already since we performed Chelsea you’re seeing gamers carry out of their higher type and I believe we’re going a step in the correct course.”
Slegers was eager to level out an space of potential enchancment for Arsenal, who had been put to the sword by a quick-fire Pernille More durable hat-trick when taking over Bayern, admitting there’s work to do in coping with balls excessive.
“We needed to cope with a number of lengthy objective kicks which does not occur as a lot within the WSL, in order that was new for us,” she remarked.
“Rosenborg did it throughout our Champions League qualifier. I believe at instances we handled it rather well and that is the primary factor. I believe we will have just a little have a look at how we will defend the spacing behind the backline.”
