Alessia Russo’s second-minute opener in Arsenal’s 3-0 north London derby win over Tottenham signified almost everything they have looked to implement since Renee Slegers took interim charge last month.

The former Netherlands international, who stepped into the role after Jonas Eidevall’s departure, highlighted a focus on three things ahead of the short trip to Tottenham Hotspur: “Being calm, being clear and ruthlessness.”

All three were on display for Russo’s finish as she quickly decided to flash a left-footed effort across Becky Spencer and into the bottom corner. It was a continuation of the confidence that has been seen both in Russo, and the Arsenal team as a whole, particularly since the October break.

Before that interval, Russo and her team-mates were struggling to convert meaningful chances into goals — a contributing factor in Eidevall’s departure. Arsenal’s collective xG grew year-on-year under the Swede, but the rate they outscored these tallies did not take the same trajectory. In their five Women’s Super League and Champions League matches under Eidevall this season (qualifiers excluded), they scored just six goals from an xG of 8.6. That has since improved to 19 goals from 13.62 xG in six matches under Slegers.

Russo scored zero goals from an xG of 1.4 in those matches under Eidevall this season. At times, it appeared too much thought was going into her actions rather than playing off instinct. This was a team-wide theme that the forward unfortunately exemplified in the opening day draw with Manchester City, when she was given the chance to break into the final third unmarked, only to delay and shoot straight at the goalkeeper. By contrast, the chance she took give Arsenal the lead away to Spurs only had an xG of 0.06, but the speed she took it at gave Spencer no time to react.

The 25-year-old showed more signs of clarity and ruthlessness as early as Arsenal’s first game back after the October break against Manchester United, however. She had eight shots that day, often shooting as early as she did for her north London derby goal, and scoring her first of the season in the process.

Much of Arsenal’s play has become more instinctive since then.

Their first goal away to Juventus in midweek was an exceptional example of how quickly snappy passing and good off-ball movement can unlock defences. The same could be said for their second goal against Tottenham, with Frida Maanum the scorer again after lovely interplay with Leah Williamson and Kim Little.

Their third goal, coming from a first-time pass into Stina Blackstenius by Mariona Caldentey, was another example.

“I think so,” said Slegers when asked in her post-match press conference whether there was now less thinking involved in the final third. “The quicker football is played instinctively (the better). But there always needs to be a foundation. That’s always the hardest part in coaching, to find the balance of foundations and structure, and then giving the players freedom and creativity. At the moment it seems to be quite right for the players.

“We want to find variety in how we attack and recognising a bit better when we are wide, how many (players) they invest and where the space is. Where are the new spaces for us? We tried to play around with that and the players recognised that really well today.”

Importantly, it was not just Arsenal’s goals where these themes were present. Russo received the ball exceptionally well to evade pressure both when dropping in and running in behind before linking up with team-mates to create openings throughout her 64 minutes of action.

Aside from Russo, the unit involving Maanum, Little, Caitlin Foord and Emily Fox on the right half of the pitch also worked smoothly. Quick, forward passes as well as one-twos around the corner and subtle lay-offs to third-player runs caused real issues for Spurs and have been a growing feature of Arsenal’s play of late. On the other flank, Caldentey held her width with Russo on the pitch but drifted more centrally once Blackstenius had taken the England international’s place up front.

Slegers has been insistent that many of the foundations for the form under her were already in place when she stepped up to fill Eidevall’s shoes. Even so, the softer skills she possesses that saw her work well as a more one-to-one coach seem to have allowed her and her staff to instil more confidence in a team that was in need of it. She also made a note of making players take ownership of the situation they are in ahead of the north London derby.

Pushed on what that may look like post-match and whether anything has changed in her approach the closer we get to another international break, she added: “We try to facilitate as much as we can by setting them up in a good way. But an example can be how much we ask them to be involved in meetings instead of us presenting, can they actually activate their brains and see what they think because they often have good ideas as well.

“The block has gone really well so far. Now we have one more game ahead of us and we’re going to do everything to get a good performance and result in that last game. That’s when we start breathing. At the moment, we just stay on this focus because we have a lot of hard work to do.”

That game is a Champions League meeting with Juventus at Emirates Stadium on Thursday. It will be Slegers’ seventh game in charge and has the potential to be her last. The 35-year-old’s impressive record, five wins and a draw from six games, has seen a swell of external support for her to fill the vacant head coach role full time. She has not publicly taken her attention away from the present task of steadying the Arsenal ship, however, with a constant message of “being in the moment”.

That mindset has helped Arsenal make up ground in the WSL, as they are now a point off Brighton in third and four off Manchester City in second. Slegers’ next focus, however, will be on putting Arsenal in an even more commanding position in the Champions League group, where they are currently second, three points behind Bayern Munich and three points above Juventus.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Arsenal, UK Women’s Football

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