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Frida Maanum believes that squad depth and competition for places can only be a positive as our demanding fixture list continues to roll on.
Maanum, whose two consecutive starts against Lyon and Liverpool were her first of the season, has swiftly staked her claim in the starting XI with dominant performances and a pair of goals to her name. Whilst the Norwegian midfielder appeared in all but one of our league matches last season, her last start in an Arsenal shirt came in the Champions League with our quarter-final clash away to Wolfsburg in March.
“When you’re not playing, you always want to play and when you get the chance, you want to take it!” Maanum said. “I just tried to do my best and I felt good in both the Lyon and the Liverpool game.”
Bench Cam | Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal
Bench Cam | Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal
“I think it’s really positive that we have a competitive squad. That’s really, really strengthened our team.”
Minutes at club level inevitably impact every player’s international hopes. Norway’s newly-appointed head coach Hege Riise has spoken to Maanum about securing more playing time ahead of the World Cup. Their national side is desperate for tangible improvement following a disappointing Euro 2022 campaign, which included an 8-0 thrashing from England’s Lionesses, and crashing out in the group stage after being marked as one of the pre-tournament favourites.
“[Riise] had that conversation with me. We have a few players in the national team not playing that much at the moment, which is always hard. We spoke a little bit about it, but I’m just trying to do my best every day in training and we get the results from there.”
With a relentless playing schedule that requires our Gunners to play at least two games a week, fitness preservation and injury prevention have become more vital than ever.
Negotiating team selection with a squad bursting with talent is never an easy task, and Maanum appreciates the nuances involved: “When you’re younger, you always want to play. But it’s always important to understand you have to rest as well. Not only for your fitness but also for your health, because it’s really intense to play every third or fourth day. So I think it’s really important we have the depth in the squad that we have. That’s a strength we have.”
“It’s obviously hard to play games every third or fourth day, but I think I have the fitness to do it. It’s up to Jonas if he wants to play me or not, but I feel like I’m fit to play,” she added.
When asked if she’s loving her football at the moment, Maanum replied, “Yeah, I am. I’m really happy to be here at Arsenal and also to get game time, which I’ve waited a long time for.”
For the time being, our midfielder has her sights set on the next Champions League test against Zurich: “Every game now is important and we know what we did in Lyon. Then we have to build from there and it’s a completely different game tomorrow against Zurich and yeah, we just have to go out there and play our game. We know what we’re meeting tomorrow.”
Copyright 2022 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
We remain Group C leaders in the Women’s Champions League following a solid 3-1 win over FC Zurich at Emirates Stadium
Jonas Eidevall made seven changes to the side that faced Liverpool, with Jordan Nobbs, Mana Iwabuchi, and Jen Beattie earning their first starts of the campaign. The boss was soon vindicated for his team selection as Lina Hurtig’s first two goals for our club, and a first-half wonder strike from Nobbs secured our win.
We started the half on the front foot, dominating possession in Zurich’s half thanks to our quietly-confident skipper Kim Little, and the Swiss champions gave debutant Kaylan Marckese little to worry about between the posts. Beattie made an immediate impact via a Steph Catley free kick, and the Scot’s header on target required a routine save from the FCZ keeper.
In fact, as well as standing firm at the back, our centre-back duo of Beattie and Wubben-Moy provided significant amounts of creativity going forward, with the latter even getting a strike on target from open play.
One of our best chances of the half came just before the half-hour mark, as Lina Hurtig produced a Cruyff turn at the corner of the box to find space and unleash a shot that skimmed the crossbar.
Another fresh starter, Jordan Nobbs, gave a creative and assured performance from start to finish that earned her the Player of the Match award. An early, perfectly-weighted ball over the top from her nearly unlocked Vivianne Miedema in the penalty box, but Zurich cleared the danger.
The deadlock was broken just before half-time, courtesy of Nobbs and her terrific first-time volley, which came off the inside of the crossbar and bounced over the line.
We doubled our advantage over the Swiss champions swiftly after. A superb show of skill from Iwabuchi allowed her free reign in the box to chip the ball delicately into the path of Lina Hurtig, who headed home for her first goal in an Arsenal shirt.
Zurich set up for the second half positively and enjoyed some healthy spells of possession, which didn’t prove dangerous until the 77th minute. The visitors momentarily stunned us with a well-taken goal from Seraina Piubel, who turned to celebrate excitedly with her teammates, substitutes, and coaching staff by the side of the pitch
We regained our composure and responded immediately, however, through Hurtig once more. Some neat play from our midfield gave substitute Stina Blackstenius a shot on goal, and the rebound was snapped up by her Swedish compatriot who fired home for a brace.
After two matches played, we remain top of our Champions League group after Lyon held Juventus to a 1-1 draw.
We have a while to wait before we’re back in European action, as we head to Italy to face Juventus on November 24. Before then, a packed Meadow Park awaits for our WSL clash with West Ham.
Starting XI: Marckese, Maritz, Wubben-Moy, Beattie, Catley (’58), Little (C), Nobbs, Iwabuchi (’74), Hurtig, Miedema, Mead (’58)
Substitutes: Zinsberger, Reid, McCabe (’58), Walti, Maanum (’58), Earl, Foord, Blackstenius (’74), Agyemang
Copyright 2022 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
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