Breath of fresh air – Beth Mead says Arsenal enjoying life under Renee Slegers

Slegers, who was on Arsenal’s books as a teenager before returning to the club as an assistant coach in 2023, was handed the reins at the Gunners after the resignation of Jonas Eidevall last month.

The 35-year-old former Netherlands international has enjoyed an impressive start to life in the Arsenal hotseat, securing wins over Valerenga, West Ham and Brighton and a draw with unbeaten Manchester United in her four games in charge.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Arsenal forward Mead said: “It’s a breath of fresh air with Renee and we’re enjoying it so far.

“We’re in a good place at the moment. We have the environment to build again, it’s a release of new energy right now and when you get the results and the performances, then it makes you a happier footballer.”

When asked if she would like Slegers to stay at Arsenal, Mead added: “In some capacity. We love having Renee here and will be happy with whatever she chooses to do.”

England international Mead opened the scoring in Friday’s 5-0 rout of Brighton, helping to move her side into fourth in the Women’s Super League.

That convincing victory gave Arsenal the perfect preparation ahead of their return to European action.

“It was a nice game to play in, we’ve been working hard and have had good performances but not been ruthless,” Mead said.

“We are heading in the right direction and it put us in good stead for tomorrow night.”

In the Champions League, the north London club were beaten 5-2 by Bayern Munich in their opening fixture before bouncing back with a 4-1 win over Valerenga.

Speaking about Juventus, Mead said: “It’s a Champions League night, a European night. Those games are very different.

“It’s going to be probably a very high-tempo game, and we’ve got to try and get a foothold in these types of games early and try and control it the best that we can.

“So I think that’s going to be a big challenge for us in the way that they play tomorrow.”