Renee Slegers lauds Arsenal ‘unity’ for helping her side win Champions League | OneFootball

Arsenal Women head coach Renee Slegers says the “unity” across the entire club has been a huge factor in her side’s Champions League win.

The Gunners lifted the Champions League by beating back-to-back champions Barcelona in Lisbon.

And Slegers praised the hard work of the entire club to help set her team up for success.

“There’s a hundred message on my phone so I have to look back,” she said.

“But Mikel (Arteta) texted me as well. I’m going to have a proper sit down and a cup of coffee and read all the messages.

“I’m just so proud that we have this connection in the club and it really feels like a unity.

“We worked so hard so when you achieve something like this, you have to take your moment and celebrate because we all work towards moments like this.

“There’s so much work going into this and the people working around the team on so many levels. The details of how we travel, how we plan things, the preparation from a physical perspective, the detail of the in game coaching, decisions from the staff. It’s so much.

“We work six days a week and on our day off we’re still preparing for the next day. The staff have been working incredibly hard, the players as well.

“They do so much, they invest so much, it’s unbelievable so that’s why I’m really proud we got rewarded for the work we’ve done this year but also what the club has been doing for several years, how we got to this point where we’re in a situation that we are all set up to win trophies again so I’m really happy for the club as well.”

Slegers was appointed as the club’s head coach having previously been assistant to Jonas Eidevall and says she still cannot quite believe what she has been able to achieve.

“I still can’t take it in,” she said.

“Of course when I came to Arsenal in my assistant coach role, I was very proud and I saw the potential in the league and in the club and in the team.

“It’s been great from the start and as a sports team you have to deliver all the time, in the games and every single day in everything you do.

“We’ve had our challenges but I’m so proud of how we’ve got things together where we could deliver the best in the critical moment.

“I’m very proud and this gives us so much belief going forward.”