“The team goal is 100% putting ourselves in the position to win the WSL. We are super explicit about that going into this year.”
Those were the words of Renee Slegers as recently as 23 August, speaking to the media after Arsenal’s pre-season friendly win over Paris FC. Just over five weeks later, Slegers, speaking to Sky Sports after her side’s 4-2 defeat at Manchester City, acknowledged that her team are “not in the conversation” for the title, having fallen 10 points behind the league leaders and eight points behind Chelsea in their worst start to a WSL campaign in 12 years.
Defeat at the Etihad means that Arsenal have now gone four league matches without a win – their longest ever winless run in the WSL – and have won just two matches out of their last six in all competitions. Despite this, the noises from inside the club suggest that Slegers retains the backing of both the players and club hierarchy.
Quizzed on her future after the defeat to Manchester City, Slegers maintained that she was “full of energy” and aligned with the club, adding that there would be a “full review” into yet another slow start to a season.
