The Renée Slegers Arsenal Women story returns to focus with this update, refreshed on 29 September 2026. Before Arsenal faced Manchester United, Slegers explained how her side had worked to fix their final-third problems. That message still shapes how she talks about her forward line now. The context comes from our original report on Slegers tactical changes, published ahead of that match.
Latest update on Renée Slegers and Arsenal Women preparation
Slegers spoke to reporters after a frustrating 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace. Arsenal had dominated large spells of that game, creating chance after chance without finding the net. It followed a narrow 1-0 win over Brighton, leaving Arsenal with just one goal from their opening two WSL matches of the season.
Chances were there. Plenty of them. The problem, as Slegers saw it, was turning them into goals, and that record gave real weight to her comments.
Solving Arsenal Women’s final-third struggles
A goalless draw despite such dominant spells is a hard result for any coach to explain away. Arsenal had controlled much of the Palace match, but wasteful finishing and rushed decisions in the box undid that control.
Combined with the tight Brighton win, Arsenal arrived at the Manchester United fixture with one league goal to their name. For a squad with genuine title ambitions, that was not sustainable. Slegers made clear the issue needed addressing quickly.
Selina Cerci and Géraldine Reuteler boost options while Élisa De Almeida misses out
Squad availability offered some encouragement. Selina Cerci and Géraldine Reuteler were both in contention to return against Manchester United, having missed Arsenal’s opening two WSL fixtures. Their reintroduction gave Slegers fresh attacking options, even if neither was guaranteed a starting place.
Élisa De Almeida, meanwhile, was not available for the game. The summer signing joined Arsenal from Paris Saint-Germain. She had been an unused substitute against Crystal Palace, rather than featuring on the pitch. There is no suggestion she was carrying an injury, only that she remained outside the matchday plans for Manchester United.
How Renée Slegers plans to fix Arsenal Women’s final-third problems
Slegers pointed to work on decision-making and composure in the box as the core of her response to the Palace draw. She framed it as an ongoing, squad-wide focus rather than a single tactical switch, aimed at converting Arsenal’s existing chance creation into goals.
She did not set out specific drills or personnel changes. That detail remains known only to the coaching staff. What is clear from her comments is the priority: keep creating chances, and finish more of them.
What happens next
Since that build-up, Arsenal have played the Manchester United fixture itself, a dramatic draw against Manchester United, and followed it with a European victory over HB Køge.
The Renée Slegers Arsenal Women project now turns to a demanding WSL run against Chelsea and Manchester City, the two fixtures identified as the next tests when this story first ran. How Arsenal convert their chances in those matches will show whether the final-third fixes Slegers described are taking hold.
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