Rehanne Skinner and her West Ham United women's team prepare to host their first home game of the new 2025/26 Barclays Women's Super League (WSL) campaign when they welcome defending UEFA Champions League winners Arsenal to east London for a derby under the Chigwell Construction Stadium lights.
One of the powerhouses in the women’s game, Arsenal haven’t finished outside the top three in the Women’s Super League for eleven years. That said, the Hammers have shown they can compete with the best in the last few campaigns, running them close in narrow league defeats - 0-2 away and 3-4 in Dagenham - last term, as well as a pre-season fixture in Borehamwood.
In her pre-match press conference, the Irons boss reflected on the single-goal opening-day defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, looked ahead to the challenge of facing Renee Slegers' side, reflected on Riko Ueki's contract extension and gave an update on team news.
Here are the key talking points from Skinner’s media briefing…
We were disappointed not to take something from Spurs
I think the first thing is that we were disappointed with the result (a 1-0 defeat). If I’m honest, we didn’t feel like we did enough to win it, but we also didn’t feel like we should have lost the game either.
In terms of the possession that we had, the areas we played in and the opportunities we created, we had three really good chances and needed to hit the target with those. So overall, I am disappointed with the result, but actually I was pleased with the shape, the set-up, and the way we went about the game.
There are obviously things to work on, particularly creating more clear-cut chances, but we’ve shown in pre-season that we’re capable of doing that. We just didn’t quite transfer it into the game, and we’ll be looking to improve on that on Friday.
Arsenal pose threats all over the pitch
You’re always expecting a team like Arsenal to have a lot of different attacking threats, with movements that really test your concentration and organisation. The longer games against them go on, the more obvious that becomes.
They’ve got plenty of players that can put the ball in the back of the net, so you can’t prevent everything, but we’ll work diligently to reduce the options they have.
For us, it’s also about what we do when we have the ball. Not necessarily always going forward, but how we control those parts of the game, keep our confidence, and make sure we impose ourselves when we’re in possession.
Evening fixtures can add something special
I think players really enjoy playing under the lights in the evening. It’s something we’ve experienced in midweek before with League Cup games, but this is a new opportunity to try it at the weekend.
It’s a chance to see if it works in terms of attracting fans and adding to the atmosphere. We’re always looking at ways to help the game grow, and this is part of that.
For us, whether it’s Friday, Saturday or Sunday, the objective doesn’t change; we want to get as many points as possible out of every game.
We’ve already had a look at them in pre-season
We played Arsenal in pre-season, which gave us another look at how they set up and how we can approach it. You expect them to have spells of possession, but it’s about recognising the clear pressing moments that allow us to be effective.
Then it’s about composure when we regain the ball, being efficient and making the most of those opportunities. We did a pretty good job of that in pre-season, but league games bring another level of sharpness and intensity.
I still think we’ll get into good areas and create chances. We need to make sure that we're continuing our clinical nature in front of goal from last season.
It's a huge statement for us
I think you can probably see by the nature of all the business that we've done over the time that I've been here, that the plan is for the long term, and we're obviously trying to improve and maintain that consistency within the squad.
This league isn't one that you can chop and change around a lot. We have to get some consistency, not just for the players, but for the fans. And obviously, it's for the growth of the Club. And so [renewing Riko Ueki's contract] is a huge statement for us. This is the earliest the Club has ever done a renewal.
She's proven her qualities and her worth within the team. She's a key part of what we're trying to do here. She's been a fantastic person to work with as well. Always trying to do the right thing for the team. She absolutely deserves the contract.
We are 100 per cent behind injured Kinga
We are 100 per cent behind Kinga [Szemik], whether she’s able to play or not [after being injured against Tottenham]. She has definitely improved, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on her progress in the coming days.
Yu Endo is back fit as well, which is a positive for us. She’ll be available in the squad this weekend.
