Renee Slegers appears more composed than the situation might suggest following Arsenal's uneven start to the Women's Super League campaign. The Gunners have already slipped off the early‑season rhythm after just three matches, and an old nemesis – the low‑block defensive set‑up – has resurfaced at the Emirates Stadium, challenging the team’s attacking flair. After a promising beginning that included a win over Brighton – a side that had handed Manchester City the title‑deciding points last season – Arsenal have stumbled into two consecutive draws.
The first came against newly‑promoted Crystal Palace, a side that, despite its recent arrival, managed to frustrate the Gunners with disciplined defending. The second draw was against a Manchester United side that had lost its opening two fixtures, yet still managed to hold Arsenal to a stalemate. These results have amplified the pressure ahead of the weekend clash with Chelsea, a match that will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
The two low‑block tactics employed by Palace and United are reminiscent of the defensive walls Arsenal struggled to breach last season. Even with a roster brimming with attacking talent, Arsenal now sit at the bottom of the WSL’s expected‑goals‑underperformance chart. While pundits will undoubtedly offer a range of explanations, Slegers insists that the root of the problem is more psychological than tactical. With that perspective, she is deliberately shifting any criticism or expectation away from her players and onto herself.
She wants her squad to feel free, to play with clear minds and to trust their instincts. "It's frustrating that we've dropped four points," she acknowledged, before adding, "We can't change that now.
It's about focusing on the positives and the things we can do better, looking forward." Slegers made it clear that she is willing to shoulder the burden of expectation. "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," she said.
She also highlighted the need to diversify Arsenal's attacking options beyond breaking down low blocks, mentioning set‑pieces as a potential avenue for improvement. When asked about her coaching philosophy, Slegers described a binary choice: either add layers of complexity or strip the game back to its fundamentals. "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," she explained.
"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 sense of déjà vu was palpable when Arsenal opened their Champions League group stage at home against Koge on a Tuesday.
An early goal from Chloe Kelly was disallowed after a VAR review, and the Gunners struggled to regain momentum. It took a 93rd‑minute penalty from Mariona Caldentey to finally secure a narrow victory over the Danish minnows, who had previously lost all six of their Champions League outings. Had Kelly's strike stood, the psychological narrative of "here we go again" might have been less pronounced, but the eventual win still required a late surge of resilience.
Slegers reiterated the importance of swift starts to win the mental battle. "It's something we are really hungry for and it's something we need," she said. "We are continuing to drive it and go after it in games and look after everything that is in our control. Tuesday showed mental resilience.
The endurance of the belief that we could get the win. 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." She also acknowledged the difficulty of dismantling low‑block defenses, noting that only a handful of teams excel at that style of play.
"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," she added. Looking ahead, Arsenal will travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, a team that, barring a tactical surprise, is unlikely to sit deep for prolonged periods.
While Chelsea will pose their own threats, the match should also provide Arsenal's attacking unit with more space to showcase their abilities – an opportunity that has been limited so far this season. One player who could benefit from that increased freedom is 19‑year‑old winger Lisa Baum, signed from RB Leipzig over the summer. Baum has started all three of Arsenal's WSL fixtures to date, and Slegers has expressed confidence in her development. "She's earned the right to play," the coach 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." Four games into any campaign, describing each match as a "must‑win" would be excessive; even "must‑not‑lose" might be more appropriate given the expanded format of the WSL. Nevertheless, dropping seven points to the league leaders by the end of September would represent a worst‑case scenario that pre‑season planning aimed to avoid.
Slegers remains pragmatic about the upcoming 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." Arsenal fans can tune in to watch Chelsea versus Arsenal on Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage beginning at 4.15 pm on Sunday and kickoff at 4.30 pm.
The match also offers a chance for younger talents like Baum to cement their places, while Slegers hopes her own willingness to bear the burden will allow the squad to play with the freedom and confidence needed to turn the season around.