Slegers says small details can make big difference for struggling Arsenal
Arsenal are on their joint-longest winless run in the Women's Super League era, having lost 2-1 to Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Renee Slegers believes fine margins cost Arsenal in their Women's Champions League defeat to Lyon and expects the European champions to regroup and go again.
The reigning champions have lost their first match of the subsequent Champions League campaign in three of the last four seasons, after the Gunners were beaten 2-1 at home.
Alessia Russo put Arsenal ahead after seven minutes, but Melchie Dumornay struck twice to flip the script by the 23rd minute and Lyon were good value for their victory.
The last five Champions League meetings between Arsenal and Lyon have now all been won by the visiting team, and the French giants have won all five of their away matches against the Gunners in the competition.
Arsenal have not lost more than two home Champions League games against any other club, and Tuesday's defeat extends a worrying run for Slegers' team.
After starting their season with back-to-back victories in the Women's Super League, they have gone four games without a win in all competitions, also losing 3-2 at Manchester City on Saturday.
However, Slegers feels small details can make all the difference as her team look to snap that poor run, with games against Brighton and Benfica to come in the next eight days.
"That's what we're looking at, of course," she said. "We spoke briefly with the staff and players straight after the game and that was more about the time we are going through now as a team.
"Everyone's working really hard to find that final action, that final detail and find the margins, because it is about margins. It will always be about margins at the highest level.
"That's what we're looking at and it's a mixture, a cocktail of things, but we believe that if we get one or two things right, the rest will rise with it as well.
"We had to match them in a way, with the physicality and the tempo they play with, but we also wanted to bring our own game and be really good with the ball and be intense in our pressing. I think we did that at times, but we weren't successful over 90 minutes."
Russo now has eight goals in 12 Champions League outings, with only eight English players scoring more in the competition.
She concurred with Slegers' assessment, saying: "We want to build some momentum now, because we don't like losing and we have really high standards as a team.
"We've had tough moments, and we've risen bigger than ever.
"I have full belief in the squad and the staff that we'll do that. It's just about regrouping, refocusing and pushing the standards even higher."
