Arsenal were able to get the job done over West Ham United on Sunday afternoon thanks to second-half goals from Mariona Caldentey and Rosa Kafaji at Chigwell Construction Stadium. The Halfway Line had the chance to speak to interim head coach Renee Slegers following the clash in East London.

First speaking on the emotions surrounding what has been a big week of transition for the Gunners, Slegers expressed "What we have dealt with really well is the uncertainties ahead. We stayed in the moment and the players have done that really well. The players got themselves together and spoke about what they could do to help the team and the club and they have done that really well."

Continuing to pack on the praise for the Arsenal players, Slegers said "I only have praise, because I know it is hard for them so I am very happy for them. They took accountability, they took responsibility and they did it so it was about staying in the moment and they did it."

Slegers 'very happy' for Rosa Kafaji After what has been an uneventful few weeks for Kafaji, the young Swede stole her moment today as she sealed victory for the Gunners with a brilliant one-touch finish in the 88th minute.

Speaking on Kafaji and her moment, Slegers expressed "For players it is a big step to come to a club like Arsenal, adjusting to a different environment and team and adjusting to the tempo of the league and we have respected that players need that time. But Rosa is adjusting really well and I am very happy for her to score her first goal today."

Arsenal playing through 'compact' West Ham Arsenal struggled to break down West Ham in the opening half, as Rehanne Skinner's Irons remained tight and compact in the defensive line.

Speaking on how her side aimed to combat that, Slegers commented "They [West Ham] are very compact between their lines but you can see they play a high line at times without much pressure on the ball, we thought the space would be behind their lines. You see that especially in the first half that we tried to play into that."

Four second-half subsitutues seemed to make the difference for the Gunners, as Stina Blackstenius, Beth Mead, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Rosa Kafaji all made up the wholesale changes in the 59th minute.

Commenting on the impact of the changes, Slegers said "There is always a bit of pre-planning, so we go through different scenarios. We are always prepared for the decisions we have to make. You have to make decisions in the middle of the game, and if you are not prepared then emotions can take over.

We go through with the players all these different scenarios, we knew they were going to play a role today but just not when it would happen in the game. Early in the second half we felt like it was right to make those changes."

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