Arsenal Women head coach Renee Slegers agreed her side’s changed midfield played an important role in the Gunners’ 3-1 win away to Everton on Saturday lunchtime.

Mariona Caldentey played in attacking midfield, with a returning Kim Little alongside Kyra Cooney-Cross further back.

Katie McCabe, Alessia Russo and substitute Olivia Smith all found the net as the Gunners made it three wins in a row in all competitions.

Speaking to the Gooner Fanzine about Arsenal’s midfield, Slegers said: “We have so many options and so many qualities, but I definitely think this worked really well and with evidence, the way they play and everything that you have to manage from a pressing perspective. 

“It was really good to have Kyra and Kim on the pitch in front of the back line and having that versatility of who would step and who would cover in front of the back line. So that worked really well and we know that Mariona is so good in so many positions. 

“Of course, when she came to us, she played a lot on the left wing, which she still does for Spain. She plays in midfield for Spain as well and we thought it was right for her to be higher up the pitch today because of spaces between lines that we thought were going to be available, and them stepping in back lines where she has the quality for through balls and combinations. 

“We have so many options, so many good midfielders. So it's the luxury of making these different decisions and using different players' qualities. It's also giving me headaches because I have to make the right decisions because there's so much quality, so I have to anticipate how the game will play out.”

Renee Slegers on the away fans: "It's fantastic- we are deeply privileged to get this support, I was really happy with the connection between players and fans today. We want to show our gratitude to what they're doing to see us and support us."

— Freddie Cardy (@CardyFreddie) December 13, 2025

Asked about the versatility of the likes of Caldentey, Slegers said: “I have to anticipate really well, or we as a staff, on how we think the game will play out and how we play players to their strengths. 

“We have a couple of players that are very versatile, we have full backs who can play both sides, we have wide forwards that can play both sides. We have nines and tens that can play different roles, we have sixes and tens. So there's a lot of options, but at the end of the day, I'm really happy with the squad and the options that we have.”

Slegers spoke of Everton’s threat on transitions in her pre-match press conference, and Arsenal’s only slip-up saw a loss of possession in the edge of their box, with Honaka Hayashi converting in style. On the whole, the Gunners were able to keep the home side quiet thanks to a good defensive effort.

“I think we managed [the transitions] well,” Slegers told the Gooner. “There's two things, it’s the players around and above the ball that need to do a really good job to stop things going forward. And then it's the back line together with midfield managing that well from behind. 

“And we had been talking about being braver in our positioning from behind, so we can stop things earlier and even create chances earlier from the edge of the box. And I think an example is Katie McCabe’s goal today, that 1-0 goal.”