Renée Slegers says Arsenal are fully focused on Sunday’s Women’s Super League clash with Manchester City as they look to maintain momentum and continue closing the gap at the top of the table. 

The Gunners head into the fixture off the back of lifting the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, a win that the Arsenal boss says has boosted the squad’s motivations. 

Sunday’s visitors also arrive after a big win, a 5-1 thumping of WSL holders Chelsea last week, which saw them move 11 points clear at the top of the table. 

Slegers feels both sides will be in high spirits for Sunday’s clash. 

She said: “They also had a big boost in their win against Chelsea, so I think it’s two good teams going against each other, believing in themselves. 

“So, it’ll be a big contest on Sunday, we look forward to it, and we want and need three points.” 

Despite now having a game in hand, Slegers stressed the importance of focusing only on the immediate challenge rather than the wider title picture. 

She said: “What it is about for us, at this moment in time, is this game, and what we can do in this game, that’s most important, and then we will see at the end what it means for the table.

“All we know is that in this game, we want to get three points, and the league is really tight this year again. 

“City have done well with only one loss so far, so they’ve been amazing in what they’ve been achieving every single week, but we will go for the win.”

Arsenal lost the reverse fixture 3-2 back in October, their only loss of the campaign, but Slegers feels it’s dropped points elsewhere that have made the difference. 

She said: “I’ve mentioned it before, it’s the draws in the league that we need to turn into wins, and we need to be consistent. 

“If I look at the here and now and the different competitions where we have been active in since January, the big moment for us was post Manchester United where we unfortunately lost and went out of the cup. 

“The response since then, and how the group was resilient and kept on believing in what we’re doing and their own strengths. We’ve been so motivated to get things right since then.” 

The recent trophy success, however, has provided a confidence boost within the team. 

Slegers said: “We love winning trophies. This was a special one. We made history, the first team ever to do it, and it’s not easy to make history because so much has already been made in the club. 

“This is the first trophy of the year, and it fuels us to win more, so we are really happy and proud, and we want more.” 

Slegers discussed City’s strength from set pieces and Arsenal’s preparation for that. 

She said: “Those things always factor in in how we make decisions. We would always train set pieces ahead of every game. 

“I think there’s a lot of teams in the WSL with set-piece power, so we always have to prepare accordingly and that’s the same for City. 

“They’ve scored the most corner goals in the league so far, and they have their targets, so we’ll have to manage that really well, and ideally not concede too many corners.” 

Another thing Slegers is anticipating is a physical game. This fixture has shown many strong battles in the past, Chloe Kelly and Katie McCabe, and Bunny Shaw and Lotte Wubben-Moy, to name a couple. 

Slegers spoke to The Gooner Fanzine about preparing for those matchups. 

She said: “We do everything as a team, but what is important is the physical side of the game. We want to have good structures, we want to have good systems in place. But then at the end of the day, it’s also about what an individual can bring to a game in the form of a duel, both attacking and defensively. 

“It’s going to be a key area in the game because there are so many good players on the bitch. So, it will be important, not only against Bunny Shaw, but we know her qualities, but anywhere on the pitch.”

Finally, Slegers confirmed that around 40,000 tickets have been sold for Sunday’s fixture and stressed the importance of the fans creating an atmosphere, praising their commitment last weekend. 

She said: “We had to deal with the circumstances, the late equaliser and going to extra time, but the fans had to be resilient as well ad they were with us. 

“They were just as mentally strong as the players on the pitch, and I think they fuelled the players, and I’m so happy we won with them and could then celebrate in the rain. 

“It’s so special, and it’s so important for us. So, let’s bring all the energy again.”