Arsenal boss Renee Slegers says her side need to solve their problems against low blocks before Sunday's Chelsea vs Arsenal meeting, after dropping four points in their first three Women's Super League games.
The Gunners opened their WSL season with a win over Brighton, but then drew against Crystal Palace and Man Utd, leaving them with an early run of results that has already added pressure before a trip to Chelsea. Slegers was direct about the gap between where Arsenal want to be and where they are right now.
"It's frustrating that we've dropped four points," she said. "We can't change that now. It's about focusing on the positives and the things we can do better, looking forward."
The main issue, according to Slegers, is Arsenal's difficulty breaking down opponents who sit deep. She said the team had briefly looked like it had solved that problem last season, but the challenge has returned early in this campaign.
"We had got away from finding low blocks difficult to play against, we had found the tools and solutions," she said. "But there are other things we can try to capitalise on like set pieces."
Slegers wants the pressure on herself, not the players
Slegers also made clear that she wants her squad to play with freedom rather than weight on their shoulders. In her view, the pressure should sit with the coach, not the players.
"I'm happy to take the pressure away from the players where it's necessary," she said. "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."
That message comes after a busy week that included Arsenal's Champions League opener at home to Koge on Tuesday. Chloe Kelly had an early goal disallowed by VAR, before Mariona Caldentay scored a 93rd-minute penalty to secure the win.
Slegers said that result showed the kind of mentality Arsenal will need if they are to turn their early-season form around. "Tuesday showed mental resilience. The endurance of the belief that we could get the win," she said.
Arsenal now head into one of their biggest league tests with the need to look sharper in possession and more decisive in the final third. Slegers suggested the answer may not be to complicate things, but to simplify them.
"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 said. "Ultimately actions speak louder than words, and there's been a lot of talking. We just want to show things now and look forward."
Sunday's Chelsea vs Arsenal match is scheduled to be shown from 4.15pm on Sky Sports Premier League, with kick-off at 4.30pm.
