Slegers laments slow Arsenal starts as stuttering WSL season continues

Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers says her side need to start with more “urgency and intensity” after drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa.

Villa shocked the Emirates after opening the scoring 25 minutes into the match through Chasity Grant, the only shot the Villains managed the entire match.

Arsenal pushed for an equaliser and it would arrive in the 85th minute through Alessia Russo, but the Gunners could not grab the winner as they drew their fourth consecutive home match in the WSL.

Slegers was left disappointed by another match where her side pay the price for another slow start, claiming the basics “weren’t good enough.”

“Yeah, we just said it feels like we’re playing the same game over and over again,” Slegers said. “We go one goal down from a break and we don’t start with enough urgency.

“I think ball speed wasn’t high enough, energy wasn’t good enough on the pitch, we don’t win enough duels, the basics which have given us the wins against Spurs and Benfica weren’t good enough from our side today.

“And we know that Villa has threat with Vangsgaard and Grant. But mostly we don’t set ourselves up well enough because then we end up having to chase it again in the second half.

“That’s when we show our urgency and our resilience to score that goal. Less score is a good goal but I also think that leads to less composure in the box because there’s stress and pressure on us to score that goal. A lot of things lead back to how we start games, start with more urgency and intensity.”

The draw sees Arsenal in seventh place on ten points, six behind third placed London City Lionesses.