Arsenal focus shifts firmly to Brighton test

London – Less than 72 hours after the emotional high of knocking Chelsea out of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, Arsenal’s attention has already pivoted to Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Brighton & Hove Albion, with interim boss Renée Slegers demanding that her side “finish the job” in a congested run of knockout fixtures.

Speaking at the club’s training ground on Friday, Slegers underlined that the 2-1 aggregate victory over Emma Hayes’ team—sealed in front of a record crowd at Emirates Stadium—will count for little if Arsenal allow standards to drop on the south coast.

“It took a lot, mental, physical energy, but we’re happy with the result of course, going through to the semi-finals,” she said. “Now we know we have one more game to play against Brighton this block, which is going to be a huge game for us. It’s 10 years for us since we won the FA Cup, so we’re well aware and it’s going to be a very important game.”

That decade-long drought has become a rallying cry inside the dressing-room, and Slegers repeatedly framed the quarter-final as “the big challenge of the block”, refusing to look ahead to a potential Champions League last-four meeting with Lyon or the looming Women’s Super League run-in.

Arsenal will have to negotiate Brighton without two senior defenders. Captain Leah Williamson, who has not played since early March, has been ruled out after failing to recover in time, while full-back Steph Catley will sit out with the calf strain sustained against Chelsea. “We were hopeful for Leah, but it’s too soon,” Slegers confirmed.

The Gunners could also be without winger Katie McCabe, who was involved in a flash-point during Wednesday’s second leg that drew criticism on social media. Slegers revealed she had spoken to the Republic of Ireland international on Friday morning and reported that McCabe was “very apologetic”, but the coach was eager to keep the focus on footballing matters.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s happened,” she said. “I think it took quite some attention from the game, because if you look at the quality of football and all the big and small battles on the pitch across these two games, it was, in my opinion, a great product of women’s football.”

Selection dilemmas, however, are generally positive for Arsenal right now. Slegers defended the decision to start Dutch goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar ahead of Germany’s Anneke Borbe against Chelsea, describing it as evidence of the squad’s depth. “We pride ourselves on making really good decisions as a staff,” she said. “They’re both great goalkeepers and Daph did amazing that night.”

Brighton, currently eighth in the WSL, are likely to provide a different sort of test. Slegers praised Hope Powell’s side as “brave, front-footed” and comfortable building play through rotations and a high press. The Seagulls have already taken points off Manchester United this season and knocked out Everton in the previous round.

“They possess the ball really well, they’re brave in their game, they work with rotations,” Slegers noted. “We’ve also seen that they have specific game plans for specific games, so we’re expecting something that we might not know about.”

Arsenal’s familiarity with Brighton has been sharpened by the loan stints of Rosa Kafaji and Michelle Agyemang on the south coast, and Slegers believes the Swedish midfielder has returned to north London with a sharper edge. “If you look at Rosa, how she’s been performing and how she’s been developing, it’s been a great environment for her,” she said.

The Gunners have contested three matches in eight days and could yet play six in 18 if they reach both domestic and European finals, but Slegers rejected any notion of fatigue. “The players have been delivering this throughout the whole block,” she insisted. “We’re in a position now where we have so many players performing at such a high level—that’s the dream scenario.”

Her message was simple: Sunday is not a footnote to the Chelsea epic but the next chapter in a season that could still deliver silverware on two fronts. “We have to finish the job and keep on going and never stop,” she said. “Doing everything to recover mentally and physically from the Chelsea game and being ready for Sunday.”

Arsenal’s last FA Cup triumph came in 2014. To end that wait, they must first solve a Brighton side eager to spring another surprise and reach Wembley themselves. With a semi-final place at stake, Slegers and her squad know there is no room for a emotional hangover.

SEO keywords: