Arsenal handed boost ahead of WSL clash with leaders Man City | OneFootball

Renee Slegers has confirmed that Leah Williamson could feature against league leaders Manchester City.

Fresh off the back of winning the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup in a nail-biting final against Corinthians, Arsenal will take on league leaders Manchester City at the Emirates. 

Head coach Renee Slegers praised her team for their performance but acknowledged that “it fuels us to win more, so we’re really happy and proud but we want more.”

They will have the chance to use their momentum to cut down the gap at the top of the table as going into the weekend. City sit 13 points ahead of the Gunners and the good news for Slegers’ side is that they will likely be able to count on an appearance from Williamson, who has been working to return from a calf injury that she picked up shortly after returning from a knee injury.

The Lioness did not feature at all in Arsenal’s Champions Cup campaign, and Slegers confirmed this was a choice to prepare her for more minutes in the league.

“She’s close, she was available for a short bulk of minutes; we chose to not do it [against Corinthians],” said the head coach. “We had other players ready as well. Of course with another week of training, she’s ready for more minutes, so she’ll be available on Sunday.”

As for other updates in the squad, Slegers also confirmed that Anneke Borbe would not available after picking up an injury in extra time of the Champions Cup final.

Arsenal’s third-string keeper, who had been performing very well in the absences of Manuela Zinsberger (ACL injury) and Daphne van Domselaar (quad injury), “threw her body on the line” to save a chance in the final seconds of extra time, and although she was checked and sent home from the hospital, is out of action. Van Domselaar is now “ready to play”, according to her head coach.

There was no timeline for the return of Taylor Hinds, who has picked up an ankle injury, although Slegers said that “in the first couple of days, the first week, it’s gone really well.”

“I can’t give you a prognosis yet, but it’s looking good,” she added.

City are looking like an unstoppable force currently, as they bring their own momentum into the game from their dominant victory recently over last season’s league champions Chelsea. 

Arsenal have a game in hand as their game against Leicester was rescheduled for the Champions Cup final, but they need three points to begin closing the gap. 

“All we know is that this game we want to get the three points, and the league is really tight this year again,” acknowledged Slegers. “Of course, City have done really well with only one loss so far, so they’ve been amazing in what they’ve been achieving every single week, but yeah, we go for the win.”