Should Arsenal sack Renee Slegers?

Arsenal’s stuttering start has put Renee Slegers under growing scrutiny, with another disappointing result raising fresh questions about whether this team is performing anywhere near its level.

Following their 1-1 draw at home to Birmingham FC, Arsenal are eighth, 12 points behind leaders Manchester City and nine points behind third-placed London City Lionesses.

Can Renee Slegers and her staff lead the club back to success, or is it time for a change?

First, we have to consider who is available right now to replace her.

There are many English and non-English coaches available, but do their profiles fit what the club needs?

Would the club need to appoint an interim coach if necessary?

The question is whether the team can perform much better than they have been producing since the start of the season under Slegers.

They have set an unwanted record of five games without a win for the first time in the club’s history. What we are seeing on the pitch is not good enough, and has not been for a while.

Responsibility is shared between the coaching staff, who perhaps are not making the right choices in terms of game plan and player selection, and the players themselves, the majority of whom are not performing well enough.

We have to ask: what are they doing in training?

The coaching manuals are clear enough, they show how to attack and beat a low block. We know it is not easy at all, but it is certainly possible. We did see an improvement from previous games on Saturday, with more long-range shots, including the equaliser.

But we do not see enough penetration through the central areas, nor enough fast, sharp interplay between players using one or two-touch football.

Off the ball, there is not enough movement and the players are not creating space for one another. Gerard Houllier used the snake strategy while at Liverpool, and you wonder why Arsenal do not try something similar.

I am dumbfounded by how little idea the players seem to have about how to beat a low block.

Obviously, there are defensive problems too, with the team being caught in transition from a simple ball. The knock-on effect of being unable to score is a growing defensive fragility. That is more likely to cause problems and lead to goals being conceded because of the general lack of confidence.

I don’t think the club should part with any manager as long as he or she retains the backing of the dressing room. If the players are still willing to implement the game model, start performing and win games, with Spurs away next Sunday, for example, the season might yet take a positive turn.

But the start to the season has been bad, and it might be time for a change very soon if the underperformance continues.

The quality of this squad demands a high level of performance, not what we have seen so far this season.

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