Renée Slegers introduced us to a bit of Dutch lingo in her post-match interview following Saturday’s 5-2 win in the north London derby.
It took Alessia Russo just 27 minutes to score a hat-trick in the Barclays Women’s Super League encounter, and our head coach explained that, in the Netherlands, when all three goals come in the first half, this is referred to as a ‘clean’ hat-trick.
Indeed, only Kelly Smith and Vivianne Miedema have scored faster WSL hat-tricks in Arsenal history.
“That’s an interesting stat,” Renée said. “We were speaking about it the other day, about hat-tricks. I think in the Netherlands we say that you have to score them all in one half to get a clean hat-trick, so this was a Dutch clean hat-trick.
“Fantastic. I think what she’s been doing and not only the goalscoring contributions, but everything that she does for the team is fantastic.”
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We suggested that these are the days when you feel most proud to be a part of Arsenal, beating Tottenham Hotspur and recognising so many special moments, such as Kim Little’s 400 appearances in red and white.
“I think what the team is giving at the moment is unbelievable,” Renée added. “I think this was the fourth London derby that we’re playing in a row and the demands are very high. Teams are making it really tough for us. It’s real battles and fights, I think it was today as well.
“I think we were ruthless in the first half with the spaces we were given and how we created that. That was really good, so we got a fantastic start in the game. I think in the second half we spent more time without the ball than we usually do, but we managed those moments and we scored the late fifth goal with two game-changers coming on. I think it’s Vic (Pelova) and Stina (Blackstenius).
“The importance of how we start games and finish games is very important, of course, for us and for the fans. We did it together today to get the win against Tottenham.”
There was a lovely tribute for Kim before the match, but our captain was able to set her emotions aside and focus on playing to the best of her abilities.
“Of course, I wasn’t worried about that because she’s so composed, so focused on the task,” Renée added. “From what I understood, when she saw the banner, it did something with her. She got a little emotional, but she just goes back to the moment and focuses on the task. I think she was really good today on the pitch.”
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