Arsenal Women’s Swiss captain Lia Walti sums up the Gunners 2022-23 season
If there’s one thing you can’t accuse the Arsenal women of not being, it’s being united. Last season, Eidevall had an unforgettable experience missing his top stars like Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Lina Hurtig, Kim Little, Leah Williamson, Lia Walti, and other key players due to injuries.
By Christmas the Arsenal squad was so diminished that Bookies like W88 had just about written the Gunners off in the betting for all the major competitions. Even so, Arsenal performed at a higher standard; they fought and won the Continental Cup, managed a dominant run in the Champions League, reached the semis, and finished 3rd in the Women’s Super League.
Lia Walti recently had a chance to talk about their 2022–23 season. Obviously, she noted the injuries held them back, but there was a silver lining in their suffering, as it brought them closer and united them on one course.
“It has been a really difficult season for us with injuries, but I think it brought us together even closer,” Walti told Sky Sports’ ‘Inside the WSL‘ show.
“I think the togetherness at the minute is impressive. We have such good people here, and I think the players that are injured are supporting the team in the best possible way from the outside. They travel with us to away games to give us what we need, and the girls on the pitch are all giving their everything. It’s been a real pleasure to play with that group of girls this year.
“That’s the interesting thing in football sometimes. When things don’t go your way, you stick together even more as a team, and then you reach a level you didn’t know you could reach.
“With the squad we have right now, we won the Conti Cup, we got to the Champions League semi-finals, and had a really tight game with Wolfsburg. Other players stepped up in these roles, which shows what quality we actually do have in the team.” With unity already a key part of Eidevall’s project and, hopefully, most of his girls returning to fitness next season, I can’t imagine how much better they will be in the new campaign.
But until then, let’s see what the summer transfer window offers, with the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia being a brilliant opportunity to scout for quality and rising stars.
