Before every home game, Renée Slegers gives her thoughts around the team and our upcoming game in her manager’s notes published in the matchday programme.
Ahead of our return to Meadow Park against Real Madrid, the head coach is feeling the disappointment of our results and knows we need to learn our lessons to get back to our best.
There’s no denying that we are in a tough moment right now. After the Chelsea game finished 1-1, there was a lot of fire and positivity in the camp. We all felt, after the performance we gave, that we deserved more from that match. There was a lot of determination to prove that and get the three points over the line a few days later in the Champions League against Bayern Munich.
I think the way we started the game in Munich is proof of that energy. The team were fantastic and dominant in that first half, with the perfect amount of intensity and intent in the press. We barely let Bayern out of their own half. To be two goals up at half-time, away from home against a team of that quality, is far from easy. It only makes what happened next even more frustrating.
As a collective, we were not prepared for how Bayern were going to attack that second half. There were personnel changes, a shift in structure and a home crowd that was willing them on. All it took for them to get back in the game was to score that first goal and then the momentum swung completely in their favour. We’ve all taken responsibility for the way the match ended and I believe it taught us a lot.
“We don’t have the luxury of a second leg against tough opposition. We have to be clinical and focused.”
There was hope we could use that result to fuel us for the north London derby, and I especially appreciated the energy and creativity from our players off the bench. However, there were still some clear-cut chances that we didn’t capitalise on. We were disappointed to miss out on the three points, not just because of the standards we hold ourselves to, but also because of the significance of that fixture for the club and our supporters. But this month isn’t over yet.
Many factors led to our 2-0 defeat in Madrid last season, so we’ve been sure to examine them closely. The new format in this competition means we don’t have the luxury of a second leg against tough opposition. We have to be clinical and focused to make sure we complete the job in 90 minutes.
Like all difficult moments in football, we know this is temporary. I know we can find that wonderful flow state again that saw us achieve what we did last season. It’s more important than ever that we keep our belief as a collective and work even harder to find solutions. We cannot change the expectations put on us as the title holders in this competition. We can only continue to look at ourselves and raise our levels. This team is capable of so much.
Read the rest of Renée’s notes, as well as a host of other fantastic content, by buying the Arsenal v Real Madrid programme either around the stadium or online, or subscribe to get every edition delivered to your door.
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
