Arsenal’s new deal for shooting star Renée Slegers puts faith in coach to end WSL drought | OneFootball

The summer of 2029 feels very distant, whether you think of it as the year of the next Women’s Euros, the year when theoretically there will be the next UK general election or the year when a near-Earth asteroid larger than the Emirates Stadium is scheduled to pass by our planet.

When it comes to English women’s football Arsenal, with an unrivalled 48 major trophies, are as large a celestial body as you can get, but in terms of domestic success they have been rather stuck in orbit since their most recent WSL title in 2019, and nobody at the club will want to imagine reaching 2029 and having gone a decade without a league title.

That is why agreeing a new three-and-a-half-year contract for the head coach, Renée Slegers, feels like a huge show of faith, from both parties, and especially from the club, who have placed their trust in the Dutchwoman to stop opportunities for titles passing by like that object named 99942 Apophis.

It is a reward for a coach who guided the team to a Champions League triumph last season, when they tactically outdid Europe’s best, and there will be thousands of Arsenal fans delighted to see the club commit to Slegers for the long term, her contract having been due to expire this summer.

Others will look at the team being eight points off the WSL pace set by Manchester City at the halfway stage and feel this is a brave call which places huge pressure on Slegers to deliver. The 36-year-old clearly recognises that, saying as much when asked what it meant to her to sign a long-term deal.

“That feels very good and I’m grateful for the opportunity, and the belief of the club, that this is the direction we want to go, so I’m really grateful for that,” said Slegers, who has been in charge since taking an interim role in October 2024. “But also then huge responsibility on me to make things happen and make the team, the football, everything around that, go in the right direction, and that’s what we need to deliver.”

A post on X went viral this week reporting that Arsenal’s average league attendance is almost four times bigger than that of any other women’s club in Europe, at 36,214 (Bayern Munich were listed second on 9,365), emphasising why Slegers’ job merits so much scrutiny and pressure. Supporters will not be happy to continue watching Chelsea dominate domestically.

In the immediate term, Arsenal are being closely chased by fourth-placed Manchester United, who are a point behind and will fight hard for a European spot Arsenal must not relinquish. The sides meet on Saturday as the WSL returns after the winter break and a win would go a long way to boosting Arsenal’s chances.

Arsenal have lost only once in the league this season – in a thriller at Manchester City – which is the same number of defeats as City and Chelsea, but four draws have been costly. United will arrive at the Emirates buoyant, with new signings in Lea Schüller and Hanna Lundkvist. Marc Skinner’s team loaned Hannah Blundell to Everton on Fridayyesterday, in a nod to how highly they rate Lundkvist’s capabilities at full-back.

The new deal for Slegers also comes hand-in-hand with restructuring off the pitch, with Jodie Taylor named as the Arsenal women’s team’s first technical director. Both are admired greatly by the hierarchy. Arsenal are understood to respect how honest Slegers is with the players, and the way she conducts herself.

The squad will have to look very different by 2029. Evolution is inevitable, given the volume of older players in the group. Entrusting Slegers and Taylor to oversee that transition is perhaps the most important decision the club have taken this decade, and they need it to pay off.

Slegers was asked where she would like the club to be by 2029 and replied: “What’s important to me is that the club and we are delivering things consistently – and the other one would be how we built a culture here in the building. I believe that’s the foundation of maximising football potential. In 2029, or at any point when you leave, if you feel like you’re leaving something better behind, then that’s my ultimate goal for myself. At the end of the day, I’m not for ever, but Arsenal will be for ever.”

Header image: [Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images]