The Arsenal Ladies have their own Granit Xhaka in Frida Maanum. For the 2022–23 season, Arteta opted to transform Xhaka from defensive duties to playing as an attacker, which has really transformed Arteta’s attack.
That also can be said about Maanum, who has this season transformed from playing as a defensive midfielder to now pulling the strings in Arsenal’s attack as their number 10.
In an interview with Sky Sports, the Norwegian has revealed how Arsenal’s Champions League clash, a game in which surprisingly Vivianne Miedema was benched for her, was the start of something beautiful and how she’s loving her new role in Arsenal’s attack.
“The first game was Lyon away,” she recalls of how she began her new role with a 5-1 win against the European Champions. “It’s probably the best way to start [something new]. It worked out well, and I feel like I’ve developed in that position ever since.”
On why she has flourished in her new role, she admitted, “Jonas knew the whole time that I liked playing as a 10, higher up the pitch.”I did that a bit with my previous team. I can play as a six too, but Jonas wanted to try something new.
“From my side, I wanted to play that position. It’s a mix of reasons, but I’m happy playing there. You could say I’m a 10 now, and I really like that role.”
“I’ve been working on my finishing for a long time. You come to a point where you loosen up a bit and that helps with scoring more goals. I haven’t before been a goalscorer, really, but I just try to score goals for the team. I always want to contribute to winning.
“When you say [I’m Arsenal’s leading scorer] I can’t really believe it. I didn’t see that coming. I knew I had the ability to score goals but I didn’t think I could score 10 goals by this point in the season. It’s very unexpected.”
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall deserves all the credit for the transformation the Arsenal midfielder has had.
Interestingly, by 2021, just after she arrived at Arsenal, Eisevall had already revealed how incredible she is, saying, “I knew she was good, but she was better than I expected.”
Now she leads the Arsenal Ladies goal scoring charts this season, with 10 goals in all competitions, and we can’t overlook what a star the 23-year-old is turning out to be. Arteta has Xhaka; Eidevall has Maanum.
COYGW!
Michelle Maxwell
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