Renee Slegers Confirms Extended Interim Role for Arsenal’s Next Five Matches

Arsenal’s interim manager, Renee Slegers, has confirmed her tenure will extend for a minimum of five additional matches at the Women’s Super League club. Her leadership has already resulted in two victories from two games played. Slegers, a Dutch national, assumed the role on 15 October, following the resignation of previous manager Jonas Eidevall. Under her direction, the team secured a 4-1 win against Valerenga in the Women’s Champions League group stages and a 2-0 win over West Ham in the WSL. Slegers stated, “For these five games, I will be staying in the interim role.” When questioned about the possibility of a long-term commitment to the position, she further commented, “I definitely see myself doing it at the moment. “I enjoy working with the girls and the club to try to get successes. I have done it before and enjoy the role but when you do it over a period of time it becomes different. Now, I am really enjoying my role.”” Nick Cushing, the head coach for New York City, has been identified as a potential successor to Eidevall; however, he is currently managing play-off matches in the United States during November. Cushing previously guided Manchester City to the WSL title in 2016, during his seven-year tenure with the club before relocating to the United States in 2020. Arsenal’s upcoming schedule includes a WSL match against Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday, followed by a home game against Brighton next Friday. Both Manchester United and Brighton currently rank higher than Arsenal in the league standings. Additionally, this month, Arsenal will compete against Juventus twice in the Women’s Champions League, with an away WSL fixture against north London rivals Tottenham scheduled between these two European matches. Slegers commented, “We are competing in two competitions. If you want to get straight to it, we are going for five wins.” She continued, “That is what we’re trying to achieve. It’s as easy as that on paper. I know it’s small margins, top opposition and it will be hard challenges but of course we believe we can achieve that.”