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Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers became the first coach in Women’s Super League history to win their first nine home matches as her side beat London City Lionesses 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
But she was more interested in talking about the impact of club record signing Olivia Smith, who scored a sensational debut goal.
“We’re really happy with Olivia and she did a lot of really good things,” Slegers said after the match, according to arsenal.com. “She brings a lot of threat. There are a lot of individual actions that other players do on the pitch as well that you don’t maybe notice much, but hopefully, the fans can see all those things as well.
“I think there are a lot of things that individuals do well today on the pitch and in general. But of course, what Liv did was great and fantastic. Scoring the goals, it’s always high-pressure moments, and you get very little time to execute your actions and your decisions. I think she did that brilliantly.”
And as for her record-breaking ninth home win in a row, she said: “I’m not here alone. There’s a squad of 24 players, there’s a very big staff doing all this work, and we’ve been working together for a while now. So I’m really proud of that as a team performance, because I see all the work that’s been done in the background. Everyone works really hard and doesn’t always get the exposure.
“So it’s a team performance and we’re really proud of that stat. I wasn’t aware of that stat and of course, we want to go for more.”
Olivia Smith: I couldn’t ask for a better way to start
Smith was named player of the match for her contribution, and she was pleased with such an eye-catching first match in Arsenal colours.
“Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better way to start,” said Smith to the club website. “I think with the support of my teammates, the staff, and the fans, it made it so much sweeter. So, it was a great, great game.
“It was definitely an unreal atmosphere and something I’ve never felt before. So for me, to score a goal like that and to rile up the whole crowd, it was amazing.”
The 21-year-old Canada international added: “The feeling of being so creative on the pitch with other creative players – it’s an unreal feeling, and I think you can see on the pitch that it was just fun for us.
“We had the time of our lives and we came up with a great result.”
