Renee Slegers not writing off Arsenal campaign despite disappointing start

Interim boss Renee Slegers says Arsenal have not changed their perspective on the Women’s Super League campaign despite a disappointing start.

The Gunners sit fifth in the top-flight table heading into Friday night’s home encounter with Brighton, who are two places and four points above them.

The margin of error for WSL title contenders is narrow, with just 22 matches in a season, but Slegers was nowhere near willing to count the Gunners out after their first six.

She said: “No, we haven’t been talking about that. We try to break it down a little bit more and it’s a cliche but we take it game by game and what we have ahead of us in this block.

“Now it’s three WSL games and two Champions League games, so that’s our focus for this block. We see a lot of improvement and I think the league is very big and there is still a lot to play for.

“Top teams still have to play each other, so we haven’t been talking about changing strategy or what we want to achieve.”

Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from their 1-1 draw with Manchester United, while Brighton are on a roll having picked up 10 points in their last four league matches.

Albion boss Dario Vidosic said: “It’s just a process we’re on. We’re just trying to improve every single day.

“We have a way we want to play. We’re still a long way from the finished product and we all understand that.

“I don’t look at the table. I think the table only matters on the last day of the season when the final whistle has blown.

“At the moment it’s been positive, what we’re doing, but the trophies and the European places are handed out after that last game, so until then there’s not much point in really looking at it.”

Manchester City are hoping to extend their lead at the top of the table when they host Tottenham at the Etihad on Friday night.

City sit one point clear of WSL title holders Chelsea, who have a game in hand.

Boss Gareth Taylor will welcome back Ayaka Yamashita and Mary Fowler, after the two missed their 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace, while he revealed Naomi Layzell is nearing a recovery.

Striker Vivianne Miedema is progressing well in her rehabilitation from knee surgery, though there is no timeline set for the Dutch forward’s return.

Taylor credited City’s unbeaten start to his side’s ability to stay the course.

He said: “Following the plan is really important and trusting what we do in how we play. Performances have been good, that doesn’t guarantee anything, but it gives you a high probability of winning games.

Trusting in what we do is super important because we know we can’t win every game, but we have a much better chance of doing that when we follow our identity and the way we want to play.”

Spurs boss Robert Vilahamn revealed he will have both Hayley Raso and Amy-James Turner back at his disposal for the trip to Manchester.

He said: “We are prepared to take this fight. We also know what we need to focus on, and if we have a great game and everything goes well we have a big chance to win.

“We need to go into this game with the mindset that we need to be perfect tomorrow, or at least almost perfect.”