By Lloyd Webb
Rachel Yankey says Arsenal Ladies must be more confident if they are going to reach the next level.
The midfielder played an important part in Sunday's Continental Cup final win against Notts County, having missed much of the Women’s Super League campaign with a back injury.
Yankey feels the Gunners need to prove their doubters wrong next season by believing in their own talent and utilising the whole squad.
"It is only us that we can look at but I do believe we can compete with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City"
Rachel Yankey
“I think a lot of it is [down to] confidence,” she said. “The players are fantastic as they always want to get on to the ball, but we need to be intelligent, do things unselfishly and make sure we get everyone involved - use the whole team and value everybody.
“When we go out there against some of the best teams, Chelsea who have won the league for example, we have made mistakes but I do think we can compete with them.
“We need to settle down and understand what it is that Pedro wants from us and as players we need to go out and perform and be confident enough to be able to do that.
“It is weird to say this but there was never a thought that we would lose games and I think this team has been questioned and we need to get that out and get confident playing against anybody and believe that we can win. We won’t always win but we need to believe that we can.
"It is only us that we can look at but I do believe we can compete with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, we are not that far away. We just need to make sure that everyone understands what it takes to play for Arsenal - and that is a lot."
Rachel Yankey and Pedro Martinez Losa
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