Every word of Renée’s pre-Brighton press conference

Renée Slegers was back in front of the media for her pre-Brighton & Hove Albion press conference at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Tuesday.

Our head coach provided the latest team news, shared her thoughts on Brighton and more.

Here’s everything she had to say on the following topics…

on the latest team news:

It looks good. Beth Mead is back in with us. She’s available tomorrow. Steph Catley is not available yet.

on what makes Brighton so difficult to play against:

I think Brighton is a very good team. I think they’re very brave and convinced in the way they play, both in and out of possession. But I think what they also have is they have a versatility and they can do things in different ways, adjusting to opposition and circumstances, which I’m really impressed with. So they’ve been doing really, really well and they’re a hard team to play against.

on how much we’re focusing on set-pieces as part of our preparation:

Yeah, it is. Like you say, it’s always part of our preparation. We have a plan in place. We have to look at what we have, what structure we create, what qualities we possess to be able to defend it and look at opposition qualities. We’re very aware of both goals we conceded – from a throw-in and from a corner at Borehamwood. We’ve seen what they’ve been doing. They have some really, really tall players and threats and strong headers of the ball. So it’s going to be a key area in the game tomorrow.

on if we can coach for aerial duels or look in the market:

It’s both. I think you always have to do both. We work with the players we have here now. I also think we pride ourselves on playing on the ground. We like to have the ball at our feet. But I also think we’ve developed the other sides of the game where the ball can be in the air at times and it can go more direct. But we are constantly working on it. The coaches on the pitch are often at the end of sessions, then there’s some technical heading and we do set-pieces on the pitch. So we’re looking at ways to constantly develop players in all areas. Heading is one of them. But then also, of course, looking at the balance in the squad for the future.

on advertising for a new set-piece coach:

Chris Bradley is going to leave us at the end of the season. He’ll be with us the last couple of weeks of the season and then we’ll move on to new opportunities. We’re very grateful for everything he’s brought. He’s brought new ideas. He’s done amazing work. He has a high work ethic. Only a couple of weeks left together with Chris, but he’s going to move on at the end of the season.

on Naomi Williams announcing her departure:

Not only in the goalkeeping group, I think she’s highly valued in the whole squad and by us as well. She had a great… She said some words yesterday in the team meeting. Addressed the team herself. I wouldn’t be able to do it the way she did because she spoke about what she’s grateful for and how she’s grown at Arsenal. It was just painting bigger pictures of what Arsenal means. What it means to people outside, but also people on the inside. It was great perspective. It was fantastic. I’ve loved working with Naomi. She’s played an important role this season coming back for us. She’s been important in getting the team into a position where we are now. She’s played her role. She’s going to move on. Again, another very valued person in the group that’s going to leave us. That’s always a little sad and it always hurts, but it’s the nature of the game. It’s part of it. People come and go. Naomi has been very important for us.

on our under-21s winning the league with the youngest squad:

That’s really good. Elliot (Allum), of course, moved into our staff. They’ve been doing brilliant. We have players from the under-21s training with us. We’re looking to do everything to bridge the gap and make it possible to make that step. We’re very proud that we have players in the first-team squad and have gone all the way through from academy to the first team because it’s not easy. Very proud and good that we have so many young players coming through.

on if Holmberg’s performances have been a surprise:

No, but that’s always the question you have. Of course, you see Smilla play for Hammarby in the Swedish league. You see her on video and she did great things. She showed that she’s a really versatile full-back. She was at Hammarby and could play different roles. Then it’s always the question of how she’s going to be able to be this player at this young age, moving away from Sweden for the first time, coming into us and playing in the WSL. Also, for example, the surface is different; there are a lot of astroturf games in Sweden. She’s playing on grass now. It’s just a small detail. She’s taking a big step. You never know if she’s going to be able to bring all those things directly to her new team, but she’s done that. I think all of that is here. She’s so professional and so humble, but also convincing in a way. She’s really impressed us as a person.

on the importance of creating an entertaining product:

I agree. I think I’m a big advocate. I think it’s important that football is about entertainment. It’s business and it’s a product. If you look at the source of it and how it started to exist, it’s about entertainment. That’s what I often think about when we play our games. You want the fans to come back. They have to be able to connect with how we do things, how we go about things. It has to be inspiring, surprising at times. But I do think good duels, hard work, people love to see that as well. That’s also a side of the game and part of the entertainment. Definitely, I think we need to deliver a product that leads to winning, but also connects people and people can associate with it and engage with it.

on the World Sevens tournament in Brentford:

No, we’re not going to participate as Arsenal. What I think of it, like I just said, there’s the source of football and then it’s becoming a big part of society in a different way, a commercial way as well. I think that’s all part of it. I think if it’s all because of a reason that people are getting happier and get joy and it helps grow the game from a bigger picture perspective. But we’re not going to participate as Arsenal.

on what to expect from us in the summer transfer window:

Like I said, always looking to strengthen for the future. I think we’ve been really good in the background to be proactive and really look at the details of what we need and how we can improve. We want to be constantly growing and being proactive with the way we do things and the way we play. There will always be a change at the end of the season. Like I just said, it’s always sad to see people go, but that’s the nature of the game. For now, we’re focused on the here and now. That’s been one of our super strengths and we have a game against Brighton tomorrow that’s going to be very challenging, so all our attention goes there for tomorrow.

on if there’s an advantage to having lots of games in a short space of time if we find momentum:

We’re happy that we’re in a big schedule. We know where we’re going with the group. We’re constantly growing and we constantly want to test ourselves. So we want to play games. So we have a couple of games in hand because of the schedule. But if you look at where the group’s at and how everyone is very eager to perform for Arsenal and look to do everything we can that’s within our control, then we’re happy to have the schedule in front of us.

on what our reaction to the Lyon defeat has been like in training:

I think the reaction post-game, you could see straight away, humble in defeat. We travelled home, we had a day off for everyone to digest it and get reset. Yesterday we were back in together. I think so far it also says something about the growth of the team, the way we respond to things, to setbacks, how we deal with it, how we put things in perspective, we’re reflective, we come together, we take ownership and we move on. That’s everything that happened yesterday. Today was all about Brighton, preparation for Brighton tomorrow. We had a good session on the pitch with a lot of energy. We look forward to the game tomorrow.