Leah Williamson reckons fans are ‘seeing the best’ of Arsenal after eight straight wins under Renee Slegers
LEAH WILLIAMSON joked at being relieved to not be responsible for deciding who will become the next permanent Arsenal Women’s boss.
The case for appointing stand-in gaffer Renee Slegers grew stronger after the team exacted Champions League revenge on Bayern Munich.
Arsenal centre-back Williamson and her side finished top of their group in the contest after battling from 2-1 down to beat the German giants 3-2.
The victory on Wednesday night at Meadow Park sealed Arsenal’s eighth win on the bounce under Slegers.
And it saw them extend their unbeaten run under the Netherlands to 11 games ahead of Christmas and following the start of the Women’s Super League’s winter break.
On whether Slegers should be given the job permanently, Williamson said: “We have been zeroing in on the games but I am so happy coming into work.
“But I am so happy it is not my decision or not my role!
“We had two targets at the beginning of this block (when Renee came in) and we ticked them both. It puts us in good stead, we wanted to win the group and we did.”
Slegers, who has become a popular figure amongst Gunners’ supporters took on her current role following a difficult start to the season for the side.
A poor run of results, including three winless games at the Emirates and 2-1 and 5-2 losses to Chelsea and Bayern, led to former boss Jonas Eidevall resigning from his role.
Since Slegers took charge in mid-October, the team have conceded only five goals in their past 11 games
And Williamson is among the players who feel there has been a momentum shift since then.
The England captain and Gunners defender adds: “When you don’t have a set manager and you have an interim, everyone becomes more accountable and everybody has to step up.
“Everybody is pulling their weight a bit more and maybe we needed that.
“You’ve seen a different side because we as players have taken more responsibility.
“Renee has just encouraged everyone to be themselves, we found a way that fits everybody and taken advantage of that.”
With Arsenal finishing top of Group C in the Champions League the Gunners will face either Manchester City, Real Madrid or Wolfsburg in the contest’s last eight.
The Gunners will find out who their quarter-final opponents will be following the draw on February 7.
And Slegers reckons the team are capable of toppling any of their rivals in Europe.
The Arsenal interim head coach said: “We have a top squad.
“It is demanding and we have had so many challenges now over the last couple of months and many times we came out positively.
“The team has shown grit and determination, in combination with quality players and their idea of how we are together when we play football.
“I think you can go very far but we respect all the other teams.
“There are so many teams who can do really great things. It is a big challenge.”