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Summer Wishlist
I have wanted to talk about some players that I’d love to see at Arsenal but I wanted to wait til the season ended. I didn’t think it was too nice to talk about that and put it into the universe when the players that are there, deserve to be there and are playing with all their might. I was constantly battling with a sense of guilt when I would tell myself that I would sell X player and then think about them being friends with the players that I do like at the club, etc. I’m just a mess.
Of course there are players that I would off load so that we have room for some of the women I’d like to see wearing our shirt, but I feel it’s not my place to mention them because they are human beings, with feelings and not Pokemon trading cards. But again, for the sake of honesty, I do have a very clear idea as to who I’d sell, in a heartbeat.
So, in no particular order, here are some of the players that I would love to see at Arsenal next season. I don’t know what their contract situation is, and I am fully aware than people will not agree, but that’s not the point nor my concern. This is my list, which will go off the top of my head, in no particular order.
Mapi Leon… among the best defenders in the world and one of the few that I would have in place of Rafa. I think her and Leah would make a stellar partnership. But I say this and only see it happening with Leah or Jen Beattie.
Alex Greenwood because she’s fierce and badass and really good.
Beth England… she has so much to offers and is an absolute goal machine. I think she would be a massive asset and she’s in north London already so the move might be super easy and convenient.
Russo… yeah, pretty obvious. I would love to see Viv and her link up.
Denise O’Sullivan… loved watching her play for Ireland vs the USA in person. She was all over the pitch, steady on the ball, pushing forward. Loved her. Would be a good squad addition for sure, specially if Mana is moved on, whom btw I’d welcome back at Arsenal any day.
Now, there are several players from Man City that I would like such as Bunny, Chloe Kelly and Hemp BUT I’m gonna go ahead and say I’d LOVE to see my fellow Venezuelan Deyna Castellanos. She’s so damn good and could play in several different positions.
That’s what comes to mind at the moment because I would go on and on about dutch players I’d love to see, and see return 😉.
d ❤
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Not as diverse…
It’s very clear that there is not a lot of diversity in the AWFC squad. You’d have to be completely oblivious and frankly, blind, to not realize this. To be clear, I’m not here to talk about the reasons as to why that might be, or speculate on what people have been saying about this for a long time.
My personal take is that I would love to see many more women of color and ethnicities in our squad. I’d love to see more black players, more latino players and people of different cultures and backgrounds that reflect society more. It’s important for many, many reasons and this not a political or even a sociological comment. I just want to see more diversity as a whole.
Rafaelle leaving means that the one South American player we had is now gone, leaving us with only European and UK players, one Canadian and one American. Again, this is NOT a criticism, I’m just pointing out the obvious. But as a fellow South American it adds more sadness to me to see our Rafa leave and it just bums me out quite frankly.
The “solution” to this “problem” is not something I’m qualified to even tackle, and I don’t know if its an actual problem. What does stand out is that a club who historically have had black players on the men’s squad AND the women’s squad, doesn’t have that many currently playing for the women.
Alex Scott, Lianne Sanderson, Rachel Yankey, Danielle Carter and many others have been stellar players and LEGENDS of our club and I would love to see more players like them be part of the squad.
I’m not accusing anyone or pointing fingers or anything like that. I’m just letting know you my observations and how I feel about them.
d ❤
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Grateful for Journalists, Authors, Content Creators & More.
Just like in the music industry, the players are who get the glory. Whenever you see a band live, its easy for most people to think just about them, how great they are, the songs they wrote, performing them at a high level and more. Yet still, some people don’t really grasp the amount of people that work behind the scenes and they certainly have no grasp on their effort, their investment of energy/time, sacrifices they have made, etc etc etc.
Most techs, roadies and crew work harder, longer hours and do much more insane work than any musician. The carps, lighting crew, tour bus drivers, truck drivers, stage hands, roadies, management, wardrobe personnel, assistants etc etc etc are the true reason why the shows that you go see, take place in the first place.
In football there’s a very similar situation. The trainers, coaches, medical staff, hospitality crew, photographers, chefs, drivers, and everyone else, is the true glue of any football club.
And in both industries there is another part of the equation… the press, the journalists, former players, pundits, and now in these times the content creators, podcasters and more are also present. And for me, in women’s football, they are a pillar of the industry and the past, present and future of the game.
So, instead of writing a hundred paragraphs to thank each and every single person, and believe me I could, I wanted to take this opportunity to put it out to the universe that you are all loved, respected and I basically want to be like you.
BTW I’m not including myself in the same category or breath as some of the women I mentioned on my tweet yesterday.
I just love them very much and I wouldn’t be a fan without them. Thank you for your tireless work, your unpaid work, your unseen and unappreciated work.
Thank you Sophie Nicolaou, Suzy Wrack, Shebahn Aherne, Caroline Barker, Karen Carney, Lianne Sanderson, Samantha Jade Miller, Vic Akers Wonderland and many more.
thank you.
d ❤
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I’m Exhausted
All I have to do is write a few paragraphs about Arsenal every day and somedays I feel emotionally drained. I feel like its the coolest, easiest and most rewarding AAAAAAND it’s also tough, challenging and brings up self doubt.
So, if I’m “tired” can you imagine what the players are feeling? Forget about the matches themselves… as if those weren’t insanely demanding enough… you have training, traveling, personal lives, relationships, illness, injuries, pressure, a persona to post up in public, managing your money, lack of support, menstruation, MEN, misogyny, and so on and so forth.
Not only are these girls historic just for being footballers but they are also dealing with a lot of stuff regarding social media, speculation, being in the public eye more than ever and so many things adjacent to the game itself that it’s nothing short of a miracle that they won the Conti Cup and were basically minutes away from a CL final.
The team is battered and bruised and also determined and energized. That’s what I saw today vs Villa. No giving up, always fighting, trying their best. This is what you want your team to do every single match, early in the season or anytime, and they’ve done this.
I’m so proud of them and so happy to be an Arsenal supporter. It just feels good.
I will be writing a bit about what I’m expecting during the summer, payers I’d like to bring to the club and I’m gonna do my very best to not be rude and say who I’d sell because I don’t wanna sound like a total a**hole.
Podcast coming up maybe even tonight
d ❤
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Rafa Gone?!
Just yesterday I was telling you about how the end of the season is bittersweet mostly because (usually) we have no idea, until it’s too late, that a player is leaving. Apparently Rafa is moving on?!??!?! This comes out of nowhere for me and I’m totally shocked and sad and also I will support whatever she needs to be the happiest player and person she can be.
Arsenal wise though this is a big deal. I’m not prepared to even assimilate this and I need to leave but not sure when I will be back today and don’t wanna miss a day and not blog.
However, my first reaction is that without Leah, Rafa and Jen are THE best duo and with potentially all 3 not playing this is absolute madness in my eyes.
LWM has done ok and I also think we need someone much better, more experienced and more established. However, she has been so impressive that I feel she could be fantastic with the right partner, which has to be someone better and older.
Mapi Leon please.
d ❤
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Hopeful NOstalgia
In the spirit of transparency, I’ve been absolutely slammed in rehearsals and I have not had time to write today and I’m literally typing this in between songs. I am also not entirely sure what to write about today but there’s one thing that is on my mind at the moment and that is how the end of the season bring a sort of hopeful nostalgia and uncertainty.
Sometimes we know when X player is moving on and sometimes we have no idea and it takes us by surprise. As a fan, this can be heartbreaking and rough and it feels like there’s no way of assimilating this. Its tough and I had it happen with DVD and Jill. I didn’t see that coming and it was brutal af.
I guess we need to love players and actively support them day in and day out and realize how lucky we are to have them in our club because we never know how long that will last. This is yet another example of how women’s football and life are basically the same. And not that’s not some sort of Ted Lasso reference, although I love that show, except the theme song which might be the worst song I’ve ever heard. 😂
Lots of goodbyes, lots of missed chances to truly appreciate those players, maybe lots of sendoffs that are underwhelming.
I don’t know… its pretty emotional.
And there’s also the new beginnings, the joy of knowing players we like will get more playing time and a better experience elsewhere.
Not sure what to feel.
d ❤
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Manu x 100
It’s hard to overstate the importance of a solid GK in any team. You don’t need me to tell you how crucial they are and how little glory they get compared to most positions on the pitch, rivaled possibly only by holding midfielders. Manu has been monumental and paramount for us since I can remember and for my money she’s among the top 10 keepers in the world if not top 5.
Most of you are also annoyingly familiar with goalkeepers being targeted as one of the reasons many men criticize women’s football and for some absurd reason attribute them with a responsibility to perform to whatever standard these guys feel has to be met. Kinda nuts, but that’s topic for another day.
I do understand one of the points some people have brought up and to a degree I agree with them and that is the height of keepers and how its much more common to see taller keepers in the men’s game. Now, I’m not saying that women under X height shouldn’t play or that all tall keepers are better than shorter ones. From my limited experience playing sports my whole life, and especially football, a tall keeper, and tall people in certain positions have, for the most part, some imposing and sporting advantages.
What’s more important to me it’s the intensity, the attitude and the decisiveness of my GK and Manu has that by the truck loads. Her emotions are so present and vivid. I absolutely love that and she is, rightfully so, a fan favorite.
She is also a club favorite and she has played 100 matches for us which is just such a lovely milestone every time it happens. I am beyond thrilled for her and for US and I hope she stays around as long as she wants.
d ❤
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She’s Running Again
OMFG yes Viv. Nothing quite like waking up and checking twitter/instagram and being bombarded with pictures, retweets and news that a player that has suffered an ACL injury is running again. This is a huge deal. If we are all over the moon, happy and excited just imagine how she feels!!! How her family feels!!! her teammates and the club too. And, as some of you know, today marks 6 years since she signed… so lots of good stuff.
But what does this all mean? To me, its very simple, duh. It means she’s running, she’s recovering, she’s taking it one day at a time. I’m not trying to be clever, my point is that with things like these, and adversity in general, we have to be present and focused in the moment to overcome things little by little, yet the real good news to me isn’t her actually running.
Problems aren’t gonna fix themselves and our attitude is key. So to me, the real important thing when I see the pictures is that Viv is smiling. That speaks volumes to me and I’m absolutely here for it. There’s also something to be said about taking time off that I’m sure makes players think about the sport slightly differently since they digest it in a different way. Not sure this is exactly true but let me try to explain my point.
A few months ago I was playing indoor soccer here in Los Angeles. I was on goal and caught a normal, routine, pretty average ball but it pinched something in my bicep that hurt terribly. Seconds later I threw the ball out and hurt my forearm too. It was terribly painful and I knew, immediately that this wasn’t normal and I started freaking out about my career as a drummer.
Aside from the recovery, the worry, etc what I’m trying to explain is that during that time off, I still had to “practice” and had music to real and I had to get my mental game on point. I didn’t have a choice. I knew that I could get asked to play any day, at any moment and I needed to be prepared somehow. I could barely move my arm but I knew that adrenaline would help me get through but no adrenaline in the world would help me remember songs, know their structure, choose the right percussion and cymbals for the songs and all of the other things I needed to keep in mind. I usually do this with or without the injury, but when I couldn’t do anything at all I was forced to listen to music in a way I hadn’t done in years and I feel I learned a whole lot.
When I think about the players and how frustrating it must be for them I can related, albeit not fully, but enough to know there are different ways of taking in what we see, when we are usually a part of it. it’s interesting, weird, frustrating and deeply inspiring as well.
Here’s the latest episode of That Arsenal Women Podcast
d ❤
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Just Ask Women
Every single one of the men’s players should be going over to AWFC players and ask them for advice. Arteta should be picking Jonas’s brain weekly. Odegaard should be asking Kim Little how to do what she does. Etc etc etc etc etc, etc etc etc etc.
This narrative of Arsenal men bottling the title is annoying but mostly because this could’ve been prevented had they been inspired by Arsenal Women, but my guess is that they weren’t and they didn’t seek out their advice and help.
Saliba is out, aka ONE of the starters and the entire season just collapsed. How laughable is this? The girls have had so many injuries that I would need a spreadsheet and they fight til the very end, with a more than depleted squad day in, day out. It’s frankly worthy of applause, respect and analysis.
Same club, same facilities, same badge but one group is fighting against adversity unlike any other and they reached a CL semi and baaaaaarely made the final… they are basically in next year’s CL qualifying rounds… they are 3rd in a very contested WSL, already won the Conti Cup.
The answers are right next to them.
Same goes to Chelsea and whatever the f*ck is going out there… just ask Emma Hayes.. just ask Sam Kerr.
Just ask women.
d ❤
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This is what we want.
This is it. The drama, the grit, the crazy matches, the unpredictable results, the missed penalties, the comeback wins… It’s incredible. It’s happening. I love it. The days of a one horse race are over. And yeah, Chelsea are basically champions but the race being so tight and the CL spots also so evenly contested it’s freaking massive.
Today’s match vs Chelsea was intense, weird and everything in between and I will get into detail about that and a few other things on my next Podcast, but overall, when I try to be all neutral about it it’s just been a fantastic season for the sport and for all these incredible women.
A sign of growth of the sport is how high the stakes are for us fans and how we find ourselves sometimes rooting for “the enemy” and that’s something that I’ve always found so fascinating and hypocritical and great and sad all at the same time.
That’s all I got for you today, have an insane day. Enjoy your Sunday and as always, thanks for reading!
d ❤
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A very subjective look into AWFC 