PRESS RESET. Talking to Arsenal’s Renée Slegers and Alessia Russo

In a week where Arsenal squeezed past Spurs in the North London Derby, and face Portuguese league leaders Benfica in the Champions League, then Aston Villa at the Emirates in the WSL, we speak to Renée Slegers and Alessia Russo on this pivotal moment, and perhaps turning a corner…

Anyone who has been following the travails of Arsenal this season know that there has been a problem down the left, and continuing to play right-footers here has seen this frailty targeted, exposed and even beaten down this side.

Birmingham City head coach Amy Merricks (below, centre) freely admitted this after they got a well-earned draw at the Emirates, moving star forward Océane Hurtré from her usual left-wing position to the right.

Merricks said: “That was absolutely part of the plan… we know where their weaknesses lie. We have to be strategic with what we do. That’s the first time Océane has played on the right this season.” And it worked, with Hurtré gliding past Ona Batlle and Leah Williamson to score the opener (celebrated below).

For the match at Spurs Stadium, Slegers gave the team a shake-up on the left, putting in two natural left-footers in Steph Catley and Taylor Hinds, and dropping Ona Batlle and Lotte Wubben Moy to the bench, with Batlle later coming on as a sub in her favoured right-back slot. And it worked.

So I asked Slegers if playing the likes of Hinds and Catley on the left could be a long-term solution.

Renée Slegers: I think they did incredibly well in the game. It played out the way we wanted it to, and credit to the players on the pitch for getting it so right and doing their role with so much conviction and quality. So I think the left side in particular had a really good game.

But us as a collective, the way we play with intensity, with fight in the game, with the grittiness that is necessary in a north London derby, that’s for us the foundation.

In the performances going forward as well. There were some really good things, but now we have to back it up and the next one’s [v Benfica].

I also wondered if the overall mood might have changed, what with the clocks and seasons changing, and if she’s now going back to planning block by block rather than game by game:

RS: Game by game still. I think my kids haven’t got used to the change of clocks yet! It was raining, by the way, this morning. It was lovely and sunny when we were out on the training pitch.

No, we stick with game by game. It’s important for us. We don’t look too far ahead. We’re very excited for the Champions League game. Excited to be back close with the fans at Meadow Park and play under the lights.

I know what it means for the players to play in the Champions League, so game by game, and the next one is Benfica.

In this pivotal, reset moment, I also asked if matching Spurs’ front-footed play might have helped Arsenal prepare to face the distinctive, Portuguese style of Benfica:

RS: There are some similarities we expect. I think the amount of duelling in the North London Derby, the physicality on the pitch, the intensity that was necessary in the battle on the pitch, we expect the same.

They’re a very robust team with a good organisation, good structures, and they fight. So, in that sense, we expect to face something similar. The good thing is that we did that well in the game on the weekend, and we want to go to the next level with it.

Fresh from being voted in the Top Ten at the Ballon d’Or ceremony the previous night, Alessia Russo rightly looked proud, so I asked her what her evening at the London Palladium was like:

Alessia Russo: Yeah, it was really nice. I think it’s special to celebrate people’s seasons and bring the football world together. It was nice to go with Mariona. Yeah, I think it’s a moment where you can enjoy the highs and lows of football.

I think it was a special night to see, obviously, Harry Kane win. I was so excited about that. He’s one of my role models growing up, and I think as soon as he got announced, I had goosebumps.

Obviously, Alexia [Putellas] is an incredible player as well, so I think it was really nice to celebrate their individual moments.

Then I also think it gives you some motivation to want to kick on. I know what we want to achieve as a team this year, and maybe it’s been tough to begin with, but I believe that we’ve still got great things ahead in this team and this season.

Following on from her comments on her role model, Harry Kane, I asked if she is like him in being able to push through blips in form:

AR: I mean, it’s an honour to say that I’m anything like Harry Kane, but I think that I definitely try and learn off him. I think he’s an incredible leader and player.

I love how he drops a bit deeper, he gets on the ends of crosses, he finds half a yard to shoot, he’s good off both feet. So, yeah, I think if there’s anyone’s game that I could try and learn from, it would be his.

And as Arsenal now have endless huge fixtures coming up, I wondered if Russo has become tougher and maybe grittier in her mentality this season:

AR: 100 per cent. I think you always learn different things throughout seasons. You pose different challenges, and I think, yeah, you have to dig deep.

For sure, times have been a little bit tougher, but we’ve got a resilient squad, resilient people around us, and I think sometimes tough moments bring out really great things from teams, and I hope that’s what we’re going to go on to do this season as well.