Arsenal Ladies have had quite a turnaround this season. Before kick-off in the FA Women’s Cup final in June, the Gunners had only won four of their first 10 games.
With just one victory in the Women’s Super League, they needed a boost. Lifting the FA Cup definitely helped, and the five consecutive wins in the Continental Cup that followed put them back on track.
By October Alex Scott had led her side to a fourth-placed finish in the WSL after only losing twice more, and now she has her sights set on beating former Gunner Steph Houghton to the Continental Cup.
"Anyone who says that isn’t a good season is crazy because you want medals to show your hard work"
Alex Scott
“It’s going to be weird with Steph leading us out last year and now leading Manchester City, but it’s not about the past - it’s about this current group of players,” Scott told Arsenal.com.
“When you look at our team there are a lot of youngsters, but they’ve had the experience of the FA Cup final, so hopefully the veterans around them can settle their nerves.
“We started very poorly this season but the turnaround of the club and the fact that we’re in another Continental Cup final means we’ve got something to be happy about.
“Look at Chelsea. They were going for the title and they missed out, while we could potentially come away with two trophies. Anyone who says that isn’t a good season is crazy because you want medals to show your hard work.”
After rotating his squad for the final WSL game of the season against Everton, Pedro Martinez Losa says nobody is a guaranteed starter to face Manchester City.
"Winning one more trophy will be the best way to end the season and will send a message to the rest of the league"
Pedro Martinez Losa
“One of my objectives was to give an equal opportunity to everybody so that they could play and we could see what they can do,” he said. “That’s kept all the players’ [hopes] in our squad alive.
“Football is dynamic so if one player came in today and scored two goals then I wasn’t going to bench them on Thursday. Kelly Smith won us the game against Bristol and didn’t play against Everton but we still won. Other players took responsibility in the performance and it’s good to have options.
“Winning one more trophy will be the best way to end the season. It’s also a chance to send a good message to the rest of the league that we can win games and play good football.”
Tickets for the Continental Cup Final are available from www.wycombewanderers.co.uk/tickets or by calling 01494 441 118, at £5 for adults and £2.50 for children. Family tickets (two adults and two children) are available for £10.
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