Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers has revealed that she is using tennis legend Roger Federer as inspiration when talking about her side’s recent lack of form.
The Gunners have failed to win their last four matches in all competitions.
Draws with Manchester United and Aston Villa were followed off by defeats to Manchester City in the Women’s Super League and Lyon in the Champions League.
Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Lyon was marred by defensive errors as Melchie Dumornay twice took advantage when Arsenal gave the ball away while trying to play out from the back. Dumornay was named in SheKicks’ Champions League Team of the Week.
Arsenal’s defensive errors also cost them the chance of points in the 3-2 loss to Manchester City.
Renee Slegers using Roger Federer as inspiration
Renee Slegers said that she watched an inspirational video of Roger Federer as she addressed the defensive issues suffered by Arsenal.
She said: “When things are hard for us at the moment, there’s not a single person in the group who doesn’t want to solve this and contribute to it. We all want the same thing. Of course, no one wants to turn the ball over in the field. There are certain actions that become costly for us.
“We have looked at it all together. It’s not only the football. It’s a piece of it, the psychology as well. How we stay in games, how we react to certain moments.
“I looked at a really inspirational video of Roger Federer. What he did as a tennis player to go from point to point. That’s all we’re looking at and we do that together as a group.
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“This week, everything has been very honest and transparent. We spent a lot of time together. What I see and what I take from it is that everyone wants the same thing, everyone wants Arsenal to succeed.”
After dropping points in four consecutive games, Arsenal boss Slegers will be hoping her side avoid doing so against Brighton on Sunday.
There will be fears that Arsenal’s title chances could be over if they are frustrated by the Seagulls.
Slegers on WSL title race
Arsenal have already dropped points in three games this season – the same as Chelsea did in the entirety of the 2024-25 campaign.
Slegers though is not paying too much attention to past seasons and still feels Arsenal are in with a chance early in the season.
She said: “I know there’s certain statistics from previous seasons. This is this season and we’re still early in the season.
“We can’t control what the others do, but we know that we have to do what we can do. We’re very disappointed and not happy with the last three results in the WSL. We definitely want more and that’s what we’re going after. It’s all we can do and let’s start on Sunday.”
