The head coach of Arsenal Renee Slegers praised the shape of the young midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross on Sunday before the team’s FA Cup meeting with the team with Liverpool.
Cooney-Cross has recently been in strong form and has recorded Arsenal’s Player of the Month Award for January. The 23-year-old made a real difference last Sunday when the Gunners achieved a remarkable 4: 3 comeback victory over West Ham United.
“I think the role she plays for Arsenal is a fairly complex role,” said Slegers. “We ask many things. There are high demands on the players, and this role in both and in possession. I think, especially if you look at your details from possession, it has improved so much, and it is because it takes time to get used to the way we want to do things.”
The Australian had to wait patiently for the bench after he came to the North London Club in the summer of 2023 and played behind experienced veterans Lia Walti and Kim Little. Slegers noticed that she was “very happy” with Cooney-Cross’ determination and patience.
“I am very satisfied with Kyra’s patience and and Grit to continue working hard, and that’s what she did. Her chances have come and she took the chances well.”
Cooney-Cross is perhaps one of the best midfielder of the WSL, but she is not the only in-shape player in North London, as several Gunners continue to appear across the board.
“If we are good as a collective, individuals can bloom,” pressed Slegers. “I am satisfied with the fact that it is not always the same people, but it is currently spreading in the squad, which means that we are at the moment as a collective. We are ready to do the work and do the job for individuals in order to be good in the games. I think that also says something about our unpredictability as a team that we can do it in different ways.”
The Gunners will now move the focus on a FA Cup quarter-finals against Liverpool. In the past, Arsenal was a power package in the tournament with 14 titles, although a drought recently suitable by Dürre was the last victory in 2016.
“It is important that we know where we are. The girls know the statistics that the last time in 2016, and there were 14 [titles]And we want to do it 15. So, this is definitely a carrot for us and something that drives us forward.
“But I don’t think I only know and want to say that I will make the difference. It is the actions that you do and the behaviors that you show every day, in and around the training stand, in and around the training grounds.