Slegers takes pressure off Arsenal players after poor WSL start ahead of Chelsea

Slegers wants the pressure on herself, not her squad

Renee Slegers is insisting the pressure sits with her, not her Arsenal players, after a difficult start to the Women’s Super League season leaves the Gunners heading into a London derby at Chelsea on Sunday with four points dropped from three games.

Arsenal began with victory at Brighton, but have since drawn with newly-promoted Crystal Palace and a Manchester United side who had lost their first two matches. The two low-block games have exposed a familiar issue for the Gunners, leaving them with the worst xG underperformance in the WSL at this early stage despite their attacking talent.

"It's frustrating that we've dropped four points," Slegers said. "We can't change that now. It's about focusing on the positives and the things we can do better, looking forward."

"I'm happy to take the pressure away from the players where it's necessary. If someone is going to carry the pressure, it should be me. I want the players to be free on the pitch, to play with clear heads, clear minds and use their intuition."

Low blocks and mental battles

Slegers believes the problems are more psychological than tactical, pointing to the need for fast starts and solutions beyond just breaking down deep defences.

"We had got away from finding low blocks difficult to play against, we had found the tools and solutions. But there are other things we can try to capitalise on like set pieces," she said.

"As a coach you can go one of two ways - you can go into more and more detail, and make things more complicated, or strip things back, go back to basics. Ultimately actions speak louder than words, and there's been a lot of talking. We just want to show things now and look forward."

The coach pointed to Tuesday’s Champions League opener against Koge as an example of mental resilience. An early goal for Chloe Kelly was ruled out by VAR and Arsenal struggled to regain momentum before a 93rd-minute Mariona Caldentay penalty sealed a 1-0 win over opponents who had lost all six Champions League games in their previous appearance.

"Tuesday showed mental resilience. The endurance of the belief that we could get the win," Slegers said. "We said before the game, we didn't know if the goal would come, or if it would be early or late and had we scored early I think it would have been a very different game."

"Low blocks are hard to break down for anyone, there's only a select few who are really good at it, but we know it's something we have to be able to do better."

Chelsea trip offers different test

Some respite may come at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea are unlikely to sit deep for long periods. That could give Arsenal’s attacking players more space to show their quality.

The trip could be a chance for 19-year-old winger Lisa Baum, signed from RB Leipzig over the summer, to impress further after starting all three WSL games so far.

"She's earned the right to play," Slegers said. "I have trust in her already, the way she's been training, behaving and performing, she deserves it. She's making herself an important player in the squad. She's only young, but credit to her."

With the potential to drop seven points off the top by the end of September, Slegers is keen to keep the focus on her own responsibility ahead of the televised London derby.

"Playing Chelsea away is always the same game," she said. "It's always charged, it's a London derby. That's already there, and we're prepared for it. As with everything else, if there's any pressure, I want to be the one taking that."

Chelsea vs Arsenal is live on Sky Sports Premier League, build-up from 4.15pm on Sunday, kick-off 4.30pm.