Renée Slegers spoke to The Gooner following Arsenal’s 2-0 preseason win over West Ham, reflecting on the impact of her second half substitutions and her overall views on this year’s preseason campaign. 

Half time saw Arsenal make seven changes, giving most of the players in the group some substantial minutes, but the second-half squad were the game changers, as they broke the deadlock to give Arsenal the lead. Slegers spoke about what was said at half time. 

“There was a lot of changes, so the main message was to connect well and communicate well because we’re in new relationships on the pitch. We had some ideas on how we could solve our attacks better against their formation and then the players coming on in the second half got that message and I think they did really well.” 

Slegers praised the way the team found stability after the break, noting how goals arrived through the direct attacking play that was missing in the first half.

“We stabilised well in good phases of the second half…I think Frida [Maanum] performed well as well. I think the goals come from more direct attacks. I think it’s one counterattack… but no, we have so much quality across the squad.” 

Looking ahead to the season, she underlined the need for depth and readiness across the group, highlighting the positives from preseason so far. 

“We go into a big season with a lot of games… we need as many players as possible ready to play for us. And I’ve seen a lot of things, I’ve seen different players in different positions, different constellations, and a lot of things are very positive, so I’m happy with preseason so far.”