'She's very apologetic' - Arsenal boss Renee Slegers reveals talks with Katie McCabe after controversial hair-pull on Chelsea's Alyssa Thompson

Slegers has commented on the controversial moment involving McCabe and Thompson during mid-week European action. The incident, which saw the Irish defender yank back the hair of the young American winger, sparked outrage from Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor, who sensationally pulled out her mobile phone during a post-match interview to showcase what she deemed a missed red card.

At a press conference on Friday, Slegers confirmed she has held private discussions with her defender to clear the air. "Yeah, I’ve seen it, I’ve spoken to Katie today as well, she’s very apologetic about the situation and it’s unfortunate that it’s happened," the coach explained.

Slegers lamented that the episode overshadowed a high-quality display of football: "I think it took quite some attention from the game, because if you look at the game and the quality of football and all the big and small battles on the pitch across these two games, it was, in my opinion, a great product of women's football."

As the footage of the altercation went viral, McCabe took to social media to provide her version of events. The Irish defender insisted there was no malicious intent behind the contact, posting on Instagram: "I just want to clarify that I was genuinely reaching for the shirt, I wouldn’t ever want to pull someone’s hair. Full respect to Thompson."

With a ten-year drought since their last FA Cup triumph, the pressure is mounting on Arsenal to deliver domestic silverware to go with their European success. Slegers emphasised that the group is fully aware of the historical weight behind this competition. After exhausting mental and physical energy to eliminate Chelsea from Europe, the focus must shift immediately to the Seagulls to keep their trophy hopes alive.

"It’s ten years for us, for Arsenal, so we’re well aware and it’s going to be a very important game for us," Slegers noted. "[Brighton] possess the ball really well... they’re brave in their game, they work with rotations, so I think they look to dominate games with the ball."