Before every home game, Renée Slegers gives her thoughts around the team and our upcoming game in her manager's notes published in the matchday programme.
Ahead of our north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium, the head coach analyses our victory over Chelsea and wants to carry our winning momentum into another big game.
Good evening and welcome to Emirates Stadium for one of the biggest and best games of the WSL season – a north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur in front of a huge and very enthusiastic crowd! We’re excited for it, and delighted to be back here at our home for the third time in a week.
We managed to secure a great result earlier this week against Chelsea, with the help of you, our supporters. We achieved what we set out to do but we refuse to get ahead of ourselves. It’s only half time in the tie and we’ll have to bring everything to that second leg at Stamford Bridge to secure a spot in the semi-finals. We’ve done it before and we’re not done yet.
Stina kicked us off with a perfect, clinical header, off the back of a perfect set-piece delivery from Katie. I spoke on Tuesday about how much we’d missed Chloe when she was out with injury and she proved that once again with that goal. And then Alessia showed her unbelievable quality with that finish. If you think her finish was good on Tuesday, come and watch her train! Alessia has the ability to score in so many different ways and from so many different angles, which is precisely what an elite striker does. Not only that, she plays with so much conviction and sense of timing, which is vital for big matches like these. If anyone can believe it, I think Alessia gets better every day, even though she was already at the highest level when she joined us. So I was delighted with the goals we scored against a very strong defence and thought we were ruthless with our chances.
That said, it was a very tight game on Tuesday, which is exactly what we expected from a team of Chelsea’s quality. They had some promising opportunities early on, but we didn’t let that affect our mentality. The team kept their composure and were ready to capitalise at precisely the right moments. I was particularly happy with how task-orientated we were throughout the match, constantly problem-solving in the final third and finding ways out of Chelsea’s press. All the while, the players had to contend with a very high intensity, physical duels and minimal space to manoeuvre on the pitch. It demanded a lot from us, so now it’s important to reset, recover and be ready for another important game this evening.
We’re excited to bring this positive energy and form into today’s north London derby. Spurs have battled hard this season and we were disappointed not to take three points from our last encounter. That has solidified our determination this time around. We understand what this derby means to the supporters because it means the same for us.
Finally, a word on Kim Little. Our captain reached an incredible milestone earlier this year with her 400th appearance for the club and now she has officially signed a new deal. We couldn’t be more delighted.
One thing that stands out about our captain, even beyond her footballing ability, is her professionalism. She is 18 years into her Arsenal career and Kim has not let her standards slip once, because she understands that there is always something to learn in this game.
She works incredibly hard to ensure she’s operating at the highest level for the team and for herself, showing up with belief and humility. She’s a very special player and person to work with every day. Kim embodies the values and standards we want at this club. A club legend and a legend of the game. Let’s enjoy today – COYG!