Renee Slegers is calmer than she might be about Arsenal's start to the season. Not only have the Gunners already been off the pace after just three games into the Women's Super League season, an old kryptonite has begun to rear its head again at the Emirates Stadium. After a bright opening, victory at Brighton where two dropped points had guaranteed Manchester City the title last season, back-to-back draws against newly-promoted Crystal Palace and a Man Utd side who had lost their first two matches has already ramped up the pressure on this weekend's trip to Chelsea, live on Sky Sports.
Those two opposing low blocks, which the Gunners had briefly looked like they had got to grips with last season, have left Arsenal with the worst xG underperformance in the WSL at this early stage despite the wealth of attacking talent at Slegers' disposal. Others will have their own views, but the head coach believes the Gunners' problems are more psychological than tactical. And with that in mind, she is desperate to draw any pressure away from her players and onto herself to help them find solutions.
That means remaining the calmest person at the club. "It's frustrating that we've dropped four points," she does admit, before adding, "We can't change that now. It's about focusing on the positives and the things we can do better, looking forward.
"I'm happy to take the pressure away from the players where it's necessary. If someone is going to carry the pressure, it should be me. I want the players to be free on the pitch, to play with clear heads, clear minds and use their intuition.
"We had got away from finding low blocks difficult to play against, we had found the tools and solutions. But there are other things we can try to capitalise on like set pieces. "As a coach you can go one of two ways - you can go into more and more detail, and make things more complicated, or strip things back, go back to basics.
"Ultimately actions speak louder than words, and there's been a lot of talking. We just want to show things now and look forward." It was almost another case of déjà vu when Arsenal began their Champions League campaign at home to Koge on Tuesday. After an early Chloe Kelly goal was chalked off by VAR, the Gunners visibly struggled to regain their momentum and needed a 93rd-minute Mariona Caldentay penalty to see off the Danish minnows who had previously lost all six of their Champions League games in their one prior appearance.
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