Arsenal Women continued their unbeaten run under interim head coach Renee Slegers with a 1-0 away win over Liverpool.

Alessia Russo hit the target for a fifth Women’s Super League game in a row, before Mariona Caldentey hit the post from a penalty.

My questions to Renee Slegers after Arsenal beat Liverpool ?"The fans mean the world, because obviously as a team we came from a difficult time and they kept on backing us, so they have been an important part of where we are at the moment" ?? pic.twitter.com/T7K1tsUlnd

— Freddie Cardy (@CardyFreddie) December 15, 2024

Here are three things we learned from Arsenal’s final WSL game of the calendar year.

Russo x Renee = Goals

Alessia Russo has scored six WSL goals now this season, with her last five coming in consecutive games. All six have come under Renee Slegers, having scored just once at the start of the season during Jonas Eidevall’s final weeks in charge, against Rangers in Champions League qualifying.

After a brace in Oslo against Valerenga in midweek, which came from the left wing, Russo was never going to miss when Katie McCabe’s corner was cleared into her path for a simple finish. Only Bunny Shaw has more league goals this season, with Russo now level with Chelsea’s Guro Reiten.

Worth every penny? Arsenal got her for free.

Relishing challenging weeks

I asked Renee Slegers about Arsenal emerging with three wins from a week that began at Emirates Stadium and involved playing in freezing temperatures in Norway, flying back in the early hours of Friday and then taking on Liverpool in Saint Helens on Sunday.

A smile crept across her face as I put to her that these various factors can really help to galvanise the team: “Definitely. We described this block as different challenges, very different challenges!

“Norway was a challenge in itself as well, and I’m very happy that the team finds ways to win and finds ways to overcome these challenges. It’s been positive.”

Finding ways to win

That was not Arsenal’s prettiest display under Slegers, by a long way. But considering Chelsea had drawn with Leicester and Manchester City beaten away to Everton, the idea of simply getting the job done under some aforementioned difficult circumstances became important. Liverpool are often a tricky opponent, and on another day really should have taken something from the game. 

Arsenal gifted them a couple of chances to do so, McCabe heading a cross onto her own goalpost and Olivia Smith somehow not scoring after Daphne van Domselaar gifted her possession.

But Slegers’ side displayed some impressive game management in the closing stages, with van Domselaar keeping a sixth straight clean sheet. Steph Catley again was outstanding at centre-back, and Arsenal never stopped running, tackling and holding the ball up effectively. 

Sometimes there is nothing wrong with winning ugly, particularly when others have slipped up.