Renee Slegers has made a flying start to her interim stint as Arsenal manager, winning three and drawing one of her first four games in charge. The Gunners have looked more like themselves, with key forwards Alessia Russo and Beth Mead back among the goals, so is Slegers the best person to lead Arsenal forward?
Arsenal struggled under Jonas Eidevall this season, winning just one of their opening four WSL games before his departure.
Despite an excellent run through Champions League qualifying, which included wins over Rangers and BK Hacken, the Gunners stuttered in the league, drawing with Manchester City and Everton before squandering several chances in a 2 - 1 defeat to Chelsea.
Eidevall stepped down after the derby defeat at Emirates Stadium, leaving his assistant Renee Slegers in charge. Initially the Dutchwoman was appointed for two games, but has been confirmed to remain in charge up until the November international break for the Gunners, taking her tally as boss to at least seven games.
It's been a promising start for the interim boss.
In her first game in charge, Slegers got her side's Champions League campaign up and running with a straightforward 4 - 1 win over Norwegian Champions Valarenga. Whilst this was of course a positive start, there wasn't too much to judge her on as it was just a few days after the exit of long-term boss Eidevall.
What was more encouraging for the Gunners was their 2 - 0 win against West Ham in Dagenham the following weekend. Despite not scoring in the first half, Arsenal dominated the game right from the off, securing the points with goals from Mariona Caldentey and Rosa Kafaji after the break; Kafaji's was her first for the club.
The October international break was a crucial period for Slegers, taking some time to work with her players on and off the pitch to develop an understanding and fix the lack of intensity which had become the status quo under Eidevall.
Right from the off against Manchester United last weekend, the Gunners had a spring in their step, and while they weren't able to convert Alessia Russo's second-half goal into a win, the 1 - 1 draw certainly delivered more positives than negatives.
Slegers has adjusted Arsenal's shape from the 4-3-3 favoured by Eidevall to a 4-2-3-1 which allows the forward players more space and more freedom to swap positions throughout a game.
This has made defending against Arsenal's incredibly dangerous front four even more difficult for opposition, especially when either Kim Little or Lia Walti come forward to support the already devastating attack.
Against Brighton on Friday night, the press from Slegers' side was unbearable for Brighton, who conceded the ball inside their own half on several occasions in the first half. Arsenal were 3 - 0 up by the break and cruised to a 5 - 0 win at the Emirates; they'd only scored three across their first three games at the Emirates this season.
Brighton had been on form too, so it's not as if Arsenal simply beat a team who were there to be beaten. While the Seagulls certainly didn't adjust well to the way their hosts were hurting them, the Gunners were rampant, pressing every single ball for the entire 90 minutes.
This high press was a problem for Manchester United too, but the Red Devils were well equipped defensively to deal with the plethora of attackers Arsenal can throw at their opponents.
Utilising the vast array of quality attackers available to them was something Arsenal fans were desperate to see prior to Eidevall's departure, and Renee Slegers seems to be delivering exactly that.
In that one game against Brighton, Alessia Russo, Beth Mead, Frida Maanum and Caitlin Foord started; Stina Blackstenius, Rosa Kafaji and Lina Hurtig came on. On top of that, Mariona Caldentey has been battling a minor issue since the last international break and missed the game altogether.
As if that wasn't already an enormous pool of talent, the Gunners also see plenty of production from their fullbacks, especially since Slegers took charge.
In the two games since the international break, Katie McCabe has two assists from left-back and Emily Fox has one from right-back; Fox was also the first goalscorer in Slegers' reign, netting the opener in the win over Valarenga in October.
The licence for the full backs to get into dangerous, attacking positions is not only a credit to McCabe and Fox themselves, but also the incredible work rate of both Little and Walti.
Arsenal's defensive midfielders have been plugging gaps in the back four, both as central defenders and full backs, as well as flying forward to support attacks. Kyra Cooney-Cross musn't be left out either; she may not be quite as good defensively at this point in her young career, but carries the ball as well as any midfielder in the WSL.
What Slegers does with these players that is so valuable is trust them. They decide when it's appropriate to press, where they need to plug gaps in the back four and how to manage the game. Even if this limits playing time for the incredibly exciting Cooney-Cross, it's worth it for the style of football the Gunners have been able to produce in recent weeks.
Learning in this type of system will arguably help the Australian grow into a more rounded midfielder, as she watches and plays alongside two incredibly experienced midfielders in Lia Walti and Kim Little.
There were questions over Slegers' lack of experience prior to her taking over at Arsenal; this is her first managerial role after all. But the way she's tweaked Arsenal's system to become significantly more effective without so much as changing the starting XI suggests that she may be a viable candidate to lead them forwards.
Her task will get tougher before the international break, with a double header against Juventus in the Champions League either side of a vital WSL game at home to Aston Villa.
The two games against the Italian side, starting in Turin on Tuesday before a return at the Emirates next Thursday, will define Group C, with both Arsenal and Juventus having lost to Bayern Munich and beaten Valarenga in their opening two games.
If Slegers can get the Gunners through this run with two wins, or even a win and a draw, they'll be in a good position in the group and she may well keep her in her post until the winter break.
Kommentare