No added pressure on Arsenal as League Cup holders says Slegers ahead of Brighton tie | OneFootball

Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers says that there is no added pressure on her side as holders of the Subway Women’s League Cup.

The Gunners are the competition’s most successful club with seven trophy wins. Arsenal have won back-to-back Subway Women’s League Cups after defeating Chelsea in the 2023 and 2024 finals.

Arsenal begin their trophy defence with a quarter-final tie at Brighton & Hove Albion this evening. When speaking in the pre-match press conference, head coach Slegers said that her side’s status of ‘trophy holders’ does not bring any added pressure.

“No, [there’s no added pressure],” Slegers said. “I think the club’s obviously very proud that we won the League Cup twice in the last two years but that’s all in the past and we have to try and do it again.

“We focus on the four competitions that we’re active in and that’s one of them.”

Arsenal cruised to a 5-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion when the two sides last met at the Emirates Stadium in November. Slegers is anticipating a slightly different approach from The Seagulls this time around.

She said “They have a very strong identity. I think they’re very persistent with their style of play and when they do it well, they do it really well, so it’s going to put a challenge on us.

“They’ll press us high and we’ll try to play out of that pressure but also, they invest a lot of numbers and have a particular set-up in the way they build. We’ll have to soak up that pressure, so it’s going to be an interesting challenge.

“They’ve changed a little bit, not in possession in the way they’ve been playing, but we’ve seen them change what they do out of possession, so in that sense, it’s going to be a little bit different from the other game [against them].”

Brighton & Hove Albion have not lost a home fixture in 90 minutes all season. This evening’s task is a tricky one for Arsenal but Slegers is paying little notice to records and is focused on the present.

She said “They probably feel the benefit of being at home. They’ve been doing well, so that’s impressive, of course, but we don’t think so much about that. That’s not something that’s within our control. We are going to play a game against Brighton and we will try to beat Brighton, wherever that will be.”

Arsenal’s Subway Women’s League Cup quarter-final tie at Brighton & Hove Albion kicks-off at 7.15pm this evening.