'We have a lot of intelligent players who can play different roles' Slegers on versatility of her squad
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Arsenal Women coach Renee Slegers says that having los of versatile, adaptable players makes her job more fun but, more importantly, helps Arsenal to get results. On Sunday, against Crystal Palace, Mariona, Katie McCabe and Steph Catley all slightly changed their roles in the second half having started the game.
Mariona drifted more towards the right in the second half, McCabe inverted into midfield while Steph Catley moved from a centre back in a back four to a wide centre-back in a three. Slegers says this level of versatility means that her team can respond to in-game tactical and momentum changes.
‘This is one of the really fun things about working with this squad, we have a lot of intelligent players who can play different roles for us so we can make in-game changes. But also game to game we can look at which qualities do we need on the pitch, I am very fortunate to get to work with these players because it is very fun as a coach.
‘It's enjoyable as a coach but mostly it is about us finding ways to win games. The way the game is developing, especially in the WSL, you have really strong opposition and opposition makes a move, whether they are fully aware of it or not, they make a move and try to solve situations, then new opportunities appear and that is what we need to be really sharp at as staff but also as players, that we can make changes in game depending on what opens up for us.’
Slegers says this is as much about the players who remain on the pitch as the subs, ‘You can make changes by bringing new players on in a role on the pitch but we have a lot of very intelligent players in our team. So your example of Katie McCabe her role changed for the second half, she only needs a short message and a little bit of information and she knows exactly how to play the role, we are very lucky to have those players in the squad.’
Part of playing Steph Catley at centre-half is because her experience at left-back means she is well positioned to cover the spaces Katie McCabe might leave when she either pushes up the flank or inverts into midfield. Slegers says Catley’s adaptability has made her a key player.
‘We have a lot of players who can play different roles for us and Steph (Catley) is another one of them, she has been brilliant in a new role. She does a lot of things that you might not see but they help the team really well, how she positions herself, the passes. She is a very good player but we have a lot of very good centre-backs in our team. Certain partnerships are very strong and we are very lucky to have all these great centre-backs in the squad.’
Arseblog News also asked Slegers whether there are likely to be incomings or outcomings in the remaining 10 days or so of the January transfer window, she said, ‘I think we have a great squad that has been built to be able to compete in many competitions so we are very happy with the players we have, we are always looking to improve the squad, you always need to do that. But we are very happy with who we have at the moment, so I have nothing to share at the moment.’
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