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Manchester City manager Andree Jeglertz has said he is “not worried” about the future after the league leaders lost 1-0 to Arsenal, retaining an eight-point gap at the top of the table.
The loss reduced City’s lead from 11 points to eight, but Arsenal remain 10 points behind the 2016 champions with a game in hand.
Due to the cushion City have given themselves after an unbeaten streak since the open day defeat 2-1 to Chelsea, the Swede is not fazed by the loss and believes the team will respond well moving forward.
“I don’t think [the loss] is going to affect the players,” he said. “We are fully aware of the situation we are in, and we are still in a very good position in the league.
“We still have confidence in what we have done so far, and it’s important how you analyse this game and move on as quickly as possible, but I’m not worried about the future.”
Olivia Smith scored the only goal of the game in the 17th minute. Arsenal’s tactics suffocated City’s ability to play their way and forced them into frustration, ultimately leading to their first loss since the opening weekend.
– WSL table
Slegers wants Arsenal ‘not too high, not too low’
Andree Jeglertz (right) took over at Manchester City last summer while Arsenal boss Renée Slegers has been in charge in north London on a permanent basis since January 2025. Leila Coker – WSL/WSL Football via Getty Images
For Arsenal, the result aids their hopes of finishing within European qualification for next season as the battle with United and Chelsea for the two remaining spots, providing City keep hold of their lead, continues.
They have now taken seven points off top three opponents in their last three Women’s Super League games and have capitalised on their recent 2-0 win over Chelsea — plus The Blues’ subsequent 5-1 humbling by City — and their victory in the Champions Cup to increase momentum.
However, manager Renée Slegers insisted the team need to find the equilibrium to achieve their goals.
“We come away from the Chelsea win, very happy, very pleased, clean sheets and winning away. And then we have the Champions Cup, where we win. So there’s two really positive moments for us as a team,” Slegers said after the game.
“The challenge is to stay in the controlled middle, not too high, not too low, especially not too high after those moments. And then we have a week to prepare to play against the number one in the table, City, who have been so good — a lot of respect for how they’ve performed so far in the season.
“We have three clean sheets in the WSL now against top opposition. Now it’s about staying here, working really hard to stay here, keep developing and keep on pushing for as much as we can rest of the season.
“I think there’s a lot of things going into why we’re doing well at the moment. We also want to write it down, make it specific, make it tangible, because then we know what it is, and we can keep it going.”
