By Lloyd Webb
It has been quite a year for Casey Stoney.
She has reached the World Cup semi-finals with England, received an MBE for her services to football and has also been named as the Supporters Club Player of the Year.
However, she would love to round it all off with some silverware. The defender will have that chance on Sunday as Arsenal Ladies take on Notts County at AESSEAL New York Stadium in their fifth successive Continental Cup final.
Stoney will be looking to pick up her second trophy in as many years and believes the disappointment the Gunners experienced in the WSL this season will drive them to success.
"I think pressure is a good thing. We excel under pressure. I suppose we are expected to go out and win the competition but we want to go out and win it"
Casey Stoney
“We’re desperate to win some silverware,” she told Arsenal.com. “Finishing third in the league probably wasn’t good enough by our standards and we didn’t get to the FA Cup final which is unusual for Arsenal, so it’s massively important that we do well in the Continental Cup and win silverware.
“It would be massive. We won the FA Cup last season so if we won another cup this season it would mean that I’ve been here two seasons and have won two cups.
“I haven’t done that for a long time. Arsenal Football Club is about winning trophies so we want to go out there on Sunday and do everything possible to have the chance of doing that.”
Arsenal have maintained a 100 per cent record en route to Sunday's final but Stoney believes the weight of expectation will work in their favour.
“It depends how you view pressure,” she said. “I think pressure is a good thing. We excel under pressure. I suppose we are expected to go out and win the competition but we want to go out and win it. We want to show why we are in this tournament and why we have the quality to win it.
“Pedro’s had a little bit of luxury in terms of rotating the squad and it’s a cup competition, which we’re usually pretty good in. We’ve been consistent in them and beating Chelsea 2-0 away was a really good result for us.
“Obviously beating Manchester City in the quarter-finals was another good result as well so we want to keep that momentum going on Sunday.”
Follow @ArsenalLadies on Twitter from 3pm (UK time) on Sunday for live updates of the final against Notts County.
Casey Stoney
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