Arsenal manager Renée Slegers has said she is "very happy" after being appointed as permanent head coach and revealed there were several moments in recent weeks where she felt that she would really like to lead the north London club.
Arsenal confirmed the appointment on Friday, three months after Slegers took over as interim manager following Jonas Eidevall's resignation in October.
"I'm very happy sitting here now," Slegers told a news conference on Friday.
"And we together made the decision to move forward like this. I've just seen what the players have been doing and how we've been connecting with staff and club and fans as well.
"That's really put into my decision to want the job because obviously when I got thrown into it, it was very sudden, it was very unexpected, and I was here to serve the club, but then under my period as an interim, it started growing. You start to look at longer term things and you see where we were going as a team and also the connection with the fans.
"I think I've mentioned the game against Manchester United where we didn't get three points, we get one point, but we perform really well and the fans are backing us and supporting us. I think that's been a critical moment for me as well to see, okay, there's something we can create here. There's something positive that we can create. It's been growing during those months."
As interim manager, Slegers refused to be drawn on questions asking if she wanted the role permanently and would often reply by saying it was out of her hands.
However, the 35-year-old revealed that there were moments over the past two months, such as 1-1 draw with Man United, where she felt she would like to continue to inspire and lead the team.
"There's been different events, mostly in the building, so with staff and players, that just give me those thoughts. Do I maybe want this? Do I want to keep on building with this? It's been growing like that over the last couple of months," she said.
"It could be little things like we try something new in our meeting structure, for example, and we want more engagement from the players, and we get the engagement and afterwards, [I'm like] okay, this is working. They are engaging, and they believe in what we're doing and the small things like that."
Slegers preceded former Arsenal manager Eidevall when the pair worked together at Rosengard in Sweden before following him to north London.
However, she has never worked in a role where she was forced to step up with only a few days notice before another game.
"Obviously, [interim head coach] is a role that I've never done before, so it's interesting to see how you take on a role like that when a head coach suddenly leaves. I think the next day we had the game against Valerenga so we had to get going straight away.
"So it's been a lot of learnings for me, but it has been full of enjoyment. [I've tired] to create a light atmosphere where enjoyment, togetherness is a very important to try and empower players, staff, and it's been interesting. I've enjoyed my time in the interim role."
Defender Leah Williamson spoke highly of her new manager, and said that Slegers has helped with her mentality over the past few months.
The 27-year-old said Slegers has not changed since stepping into the head coach role after being an assistant, which, William said, the players see as a sign of a genuine person.
"I'm glad she's got the job," Williamson told reporters on Friday.
"Obviously, results have been great, but the environment's been nice. It's a nice place to come to work, which is important. It's a workplace at the end of the day, and I think I've spoken to her about this, but in my opinion, I think her greatest strength or quality I suppose in that role is the empowerment and the way that it's worked naturally.
"With an interim, you kind of distribute responsibility, but she sort of alluded to the fact that that won't change, she won't change, and it's a good way to get everybody to step up, take responsibility whilst also empowering the people to do the jobs that they've been put in place to do. I'm happy. I'm delighted for her and obviously I hope it stays the same."
Williamson revealed the players found out on Friday morning, a short time before the news was made public to fans.
The centre-back and vice-captain also added that she is happy that Arsenal can maintain consistency with Slegers rather than interrupting their flow by introducing a new manager.
"This period of time it's been on my brain as well. This feels really good when we're going on the pitch, it's very clear, it is always good in football when you feel like you're seeing progress on a daily basis and obviously we're have another game, so we've been training a lot, but that's given us a good opportunity to do that.
"That's what I was thinking last week, that this is really good, so I hope this doesn't go to waste and I don't think it will, so that's good."