Renee Slegers has said Arsenal need to be wary of United States forward Alyssa Thompson when her side take on Chelsea in the Women’s Super League (WSL).
Thompson had made an instant impact at Chelsea since joining from Angel City, and is the west London club’s top scorer in the WSL this season with four goals.
Arsenal are aware of the quality she possesses, with the USWNT forward scoring her first WSL goal in the reverse fixture at the Emirates courtesy of a delicate lob.
“She has done really well,” Slegers said of Thompson at a news conference on Friday.
“Of course she has her super strength — she’s very fast and with that speed she can still create and be controlled and balanced.
“So she’s a really, really good player … made a great impact for Chelsea and really shown herself in the WSL. So we’ll have to look out for her [on Saturday].
“We have to find the right ways to stop her,” she added.
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The return of Thompson’s USWNT teammate Emily Fox, which was confirmed by Slegers, following a concussion injury will help towards this. However, Slegers added that Leah Williamson and Chloe Kelly won’t be part of the squad.
Arsenal go into Saturday’s clash four points behind Chelsea and a staggering ten points behind leaders Manchester City. The Gunners’ domestic campaign took a further blow on Thursday, when they were knocked out of the League Cup by Manchester United.
The goalless draw against the same opponents earlier in the month means they have shared the points in three of their last five league games.
While the Gunners’ last win at Chelsea came in 2018, Slegers feels the visit to the reigning champions could serve as a springboard to their season.
“The performances have been good. So we have belief and the players play with confidence in that sense, and I believe in the players and what they’re doing,” she said.
“So I think it’s a good moment and we always love to play these big games. The players rise to the occasion and we know the task tomorrow. We want to win, we need to win, we need points in one way. It creates clarity in what we want to achieve and what we’re going after tomorrow.”
“Of course you want to build momentum, you want to win. That would be really good for us. And I think with everything that the players have done so far, how they’ve come back in and where we are now and even with the adversities … they’ve been so good,” she added.
“So yeah, we go for it and if we are successful tomorrow, we deserved it because everything they’ve put in so far has been amazing and yeah. So we’re going to go for it, of course.”
