Arsenal defender Steph Catley has told the Gooner Fanzine a “hunger for clean sheets” has spurred her side’s run of five consecutive league games without conceding.

Under Renee Slegers, the Gunners have conceded once in seven WSL matches, with Catley, a left-back by trade, playing a key role in the centre of defence.

Slegers told the Gooner after Crystal Palace that her side’s improvements in defence came down to mentality, with Catley elaborating: “I think it comes down to a hunger for clean sheets. For me, I'm very detail oriented, so I think it's the small things within a game.

“It's the communication and partnerships, and winning small battles that people might not notice, and it's doing that consistently over the space of 90 minutes, and not giving up those little moments that might lead to a mistake or lead to a goal, so sometimes it's just a shift in that hunger and being, you want to score goals, but keeping a clean sheet is also a priority.”

Does the Australian international celebrate clean sheets more when she plays at centre-back? “I think so, yeah! I mean, as a fullback, it's the same,” said Catley. 

“If you think about it, a clean sheet is the entire team, because you think about how much work, you know, a number nine's doing to start the press, or there's so many little things that go into it, but as centre backs and a goalkeeper, there's definitely like a lot of pride that goes into that, and it does feel good when the whistle goes and you've got that clean sheet.”

My questions to Renee Slegers about Arsenal Women's team news before Wednesday's Subway Cup quarter-final against Brighton- @GoonerFanzine ??Updates on Stina Blackstenius, Lina Hurtig, Amanda Ilestedt and Victoria Pelova ?https://t.co/v2626FuVMG

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With Catley featuring at centre-back sporadically throughout her career due to injuries elsewhere for club and country, a regular run in that position under Slegers has seen her selected above the likes of Lotte Wubben-Moy and Laia Codina.

“I think that's the wonderful and the tough thing about our squad is that you can't have all of these amazing players on the field,” Catley reflected. 

“But I think that's also what makes us so special and so strong in these moments where we've got so many games, we've got so many opportunities to play, and football changes so, so quickly, you just never know what's going to happen. 

“A couple injuries here, a couple of dips in form here and there, and things change, so you've just got to do what you can do in the moment, and right now I'm playing consistently, I'm keeping myself healthy, I'm keeping myself fit. And I'm able to perform at a high level, game in game out, and that is all you can ask for as a player, and you want to do that for as long as possible, and that's what all the players in our squad want to do. 

“So I suppose that's the pressure of playing at a top club anywhere in the world, you've got players that are waiting for their moment, and that's a good thing, it keeps you at the top of your game, and that's what you want in a squad like ours.”