Bayern fixture important in continuing Arsenal’s momentum says Slegers | OneFootball

Arsenal’s interim head coach Renée Slegers says that defeating Bayern Munich in the club’s final UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage fixture is important for the continuation of momentum.

The Gunners play host to the German side at the Mangata UK Pay Stadium Meadow Park this evening. Arsenal need a win to end the group stage as group winners.

Under interim boss Slegers’ leadership, Arsenal are unbeaten in 10 games. When speaking to the media ahead of this evening’s fixture, Slegers highlighted the importance of continuing the momentum into the Christmas break.

“Most importantly, it was [our aim] to qualify for the quarter-finals,” Slegers said. “We did that, but now we said ‘we go and try and win the game and win the group’. It’s important for the momentum of the team at the moment.”

Due to a fixture clash with the men’s team, Arsenal must play this evening’s game in Boreham Wood rather than at the Emirates Stadium. Slegers says that her side can feed from the fans’ energy at the Mangata Pay UK Stadium Meadow Park.

She said “We’re going to play at Boreham Wood and I think what’s positive about Boreham Wood is that we’re so close to the fans. It’s a very intimate place to be, so I think we get that extra connection. We’re very close to each other, so that’s positive from a facilities perspective.

“Obviously, the Emirates has all the space, there’s room for everything; there’s technology and that’s different than Boreham Wood, but we’ve been doing that for such a long time and we have a good process in place as well.”

Arsenal were defeated 5-2 in the reverse fixture on Matchday 1. Former boss Jonas Eidevall was in charge for that game and Slegers highlighted the team’s momentum that has been built since that fixture.

She said “From a results perspective, we’re very happy with the results, but performances were already good. If you look at it statistically and objectively, we had good performances in place. We built momentum and I think we did that well in the game against Vålerenga and moving onwards. I think it’s always very strong if you have positive things going on, to keep on building on those positives and you can keep on building momentum.

“It’s always [about] staying sharp as well because it’s not just positive and not just momentum. We have to stay sharp on what we need to emphasise and what details we need in place and work really hard. I think that’s what the girls have been doing.”

Arsenal’s UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage fixture against Bayern Munich kicks-off at 8pm this evening. The game is a complete sell-out.