Interview

Bloodworth - How I'm trying to surprise opponents

Bloodworth against West Ham

Capable of playing in midfield or anywhere across the backline, Dominique Bloodworth has cemented her place as one of the first names on Joe Montemurro’s teamsheet.

The Netherlands international guided our defence to back-to-back clean sheets against Liverpool and Lewes this season - but not at the cost of her ball-playing ability.

“Playing in midfield will always be my preference, but I know that we have some injuries at the back and some good players in midfield, so there’s a lot to compete with,” Bloodworth told Arsenal.com.

“I think I’m a good passer and if I can set the tempo with my passing out from the back, then that’s something that can help the team. If the ball is coming from one side and we can switch it quickly to the other side, then that’s something that you can expose the opponent through.

“I’m also trying to surprise them with long balls and play some drilled passes into the midfield pockets so that I can start our attacking moves. That’s one of my qualities, but as long as I’m on the pitch and helping the team that’s the most important thing.”

Bloodworth

Montemurro encourages his players to be comfortable in a variety of positions, and this is something that’s played perfectly into Bloodworth’s hands.

His philosophy is that he wants all of us to be versatile,” she said. “He has faith in a lot of his players and I can be very versatile, so he puts me in the starting XI every week and I think as long as I’m performing well, then there’s no reason to put me on the bench.

“One of my aims is to keep performing every week, week in, week out. I started well against Liverpool, and Lewes was another good performance, but I need to keep that going against Yeovil and West Ham.”

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