Every word of our pre-A League Allstars presser

Ahead of tomorrow's exhibition match against the A League Allstars, Jonas Eidevall, Kim Little and Steph Catley all addressed the Australian media.

They were asked about facing familiar faces in the match, the expected atmosphere in Melbourne and the growth of the game across the world. 

Here's every word from the press conference:

on being back in Australia...

SC: Yeah, I think it’s pretty amazing. It’s lovely to be home as always but to be here with my club team is quite a unique experience. It’s a great opportunity for everyone involved, I think it’s a first for women’s football and it’s really special to be involved. I think it’s something that Arsenal is doing on the daily, breaking barriers and being the first to do things. For me and the other Aussies involved it’s a really special occasion.

on showing teammates around Melbourne...

SC: It’s been fun. I didn’t sleep the best last night so I’ve been in my bed this afternoon but I know everyone got out and about, doing a bit of shopping and obviously we were at the zoo earlier which I haven’t done since I was in primary school so I was loving seeing the koalas and the kangaroos and living my best tourist life. So yeah, it’s been awesome, I think the weather has been good which is great for Melbourne so yeah, it’s been fun and I’m just looking forward to the game now.

on Jonas’ hopes of what to get out of the week...

JE: A couple of things. One is, of course, to show Arsenal to a new audience and to show what we are about, what style of football we represent but also to give younger players an opportunity. At Arsenal, it’s sometimes hard to get those moments and opportunities and give our best Academy players the chance to play in really good and exciting games. This is a good opportunity to do that together with experienced and really good first-team players like Kim and Steph.

on potential A-League talent...

JE: That also, of course. It’s a great opportunity to see the best from a league that has produced so many great talents over the years and obviously a little bit different competition nowadays with how the season in the US league and Australian league was overlapping. It obviously made it easier to attract a lot of foreign talent but now it’s more homegrown talent and it’s going to be really exciting to see what that is tomorrow.

on Kim Little influence within the squad and the ‘mum’ tags...

KL: No, I don’t see myself as the mum of the team but I think some people from the outside have put that on me. Obviously, I’m an older player and more experienced. I’ve played for a lot longer than some of the people I’m playing with now, especially Kyra and Vic as well who are two of our younger midfielders. I like to think that I’m a good influence on them and that I can help them develop into top-class players.

Kim Little on what it’s been like as a player, being at Arsenal since 2008, and watching the growth of the game over the years expand… 

KL: It's even just what Steph was saying there about Arsenal as a club, breaking so many barriers. I signed when I was 17 and then we played an Emirates that year, actually. I think there were a few thousand there, and now to see what we've done the past couple of years selling out the Emirates, shows the kind of global attraction of not just you know, our men's team but also our women's team.

It's pretty incredible even being here in Melbourne, obviously after the World Cup last year, obviously the Matildas being pretty successful and yeah, it's kind of special to see in a different country. Obviously in England, after they won the Euros, you could feel that but to come across here and just see the popularity of it all the younger girls out here, just wanting to get a photo it just shows another side of the game and shows how far it’s come. I'm lucky to have seen all of it, which is special. 

on what it’s been like returning to Melbourne and going from experiencing crowds of 4,000 to now filling out stadiums…

KL: Yeah, I played there just one season, in 2015/16, between the seasons I was in Seattle, and played with Steph, which was fun. So, I haven't been back and obviously to be at AAMI Park, we played our semi-final there against Brisbane - we were just chatting about that. And then we played the Final against Sydney. So, lots of fun memories eight years ago. 

We lived just north of the city when I was here, I love the city. So, it's nice to be back, even though we're only here briefly. Little reminders, I was in the city today and I remember going into a shop to buy something of Melbourne just before I left, and I was like, that's the same shop. So, there are little personal memories and obviously great to be back and to play again at AMMI Park, and hopefully, we’ll have some fun tomorrow. 

SC: Yeah, I think the change has been astronomical since the World Cup for me, since the Euros in England for the league. I think I say it a lot, but I'm in a really privileged position where I play at home for the Matildas, and we're selling out every stadium we play at and then I go home and if we play at the Emirates, we're able to sell that out playing in front of massive crowds. 

So, since that day, that grand final, I'm not sure how many were there, but it was about 4,000. Not a whole lot and that was the standard, but that was a big crowd back then. And, you know, a crowd we would have been grateful for, but now that's something that's just completely different. And the expectation and the ceilings have been so blown away since the World Cup for us here in Australia, which I could never even imagine, you know, back in the day back then that we would be where we are now. So, it's pretty special. 

On what the A League can learn from the WSL:

I think you can see the change over a period so it obviously takes time. Once people see the potential in things, whether it’s clubs that are traditionally men’s clubs investing in their women’s teams or national teams investing in the women’s team, there is that potential and we’re a proud example of that. To say there’s been a few thousand in the A League this year is an improvement already so most women’s leagues, if they grow it in the right, sustainable way and have the belief from everyone involved, I think it has great potential all over the world.

on if our Australian players are fit to start:

JE: I’m sitting here being boring about team news like always. We keep that to ourselves. Everyone travelling with us here is available to train today and it’s going to be an open training session, so everybody can see that. What I can guarantee is that each one of them will play tomorrow. We’ll have to wait and see who starts the game.

on if we can win the A League Allstars fans over with our Australian players:

JE: I haven’t thought about that. We’re just focused on playing our football and doing that as best as possible to represent the badge and our way of playing. Hopefully, if you’re not already in love with Arsenal then you will be when you see the team play. That’s always the ambition to do that. Everything we can focus on is our way of playing and that’s what we should be doing here.

on areas we’re looking at in the transfer window:

JE: It’s always in elite sports and at Arsenal Women to continue to seek improvement. That goes for the squad as well. We obviously identify things for if we can add quality, that would be great for us. If it’s about adding quantity, that’s not where we’re at at the moment. Hopefully, during this transfer window we’ll have a couple of announcements to be made.

JE: I'm sure she will be very successful. They have a great team and a great programme. She's a great coach. I'm sure she will be very successful.

on Kyra Cooney-Cross at the FA Cup Final…

JE: I think you should never forget but Kyra is a young person and sometimes things get blown out of proportion. You don't really know the context and why certain things happen. But she will learn and we’ve moved on from the situation.

on Aaron D'Antino’s role as assistant coach…

JE: Great. Aaron has great energy. He cares about all the elements of our program. He's a real glue in the building.

KL: I've worked with Azza since... he's been there almost as long as I've been back in the club. Yeah, we all love Aaron. He's a great person and a great coach. He takes all our - I was about to swear there! And yeah, he's worked with a lot of us for a number of years and I don't think anyone could say anything bad about him, both as a person and a coach. And yeah, isn't it nice that he's back here as well, to see his family and he's from Geelong. Yeah, so it's nice that he can experience that and play here as well, but yeah, I couldn't speak more highly of Azza.

on dealing with a hectic off-season…

SC: Yeah, it has been a busy year really, since the World Cup. It's been pretty hectic, non-stop games, non-stop football. A lot of travel. I think it's nice for us Aussies to have these guys come and do the trip so they get a little understanding of what it's like making that trip and playing and doing what we do throughout an entire year. But that's why we do it. There are so many games, that's what we want to be doing. I'm loving my football at the moment, I'm feeling good. So I'm looking forward to the game on Friday, and then obviously heading to camp with the girls. It feels like it's been a little while since we've been together, so it'll be nice to see them again.

on ex-Matildas coach Ante Milicic’s new role as China’s head coach…

SC: Yeah, I actually just heard about that. Yesterday, Caitlin told me. She was speaking to Ivan [Jolic] who will be the assistant coach. Yeah, it's been a long time since I've seen either of those two, but obviously, I love them both as coaches and as people, so it'll be lovely to catch up. Yeah, lots of coaching connections at the moment with Joe on the other side with the A League Allstars. There are Australians everywhere! It's an interesting one, but he's a brilliant coach so I'm sure he'll have them very well set up. And that does add an extra challenge to those upcoming two games.

on whether Steph is expecting a different USWNT side from the World Cup…

Yeah, it's hard to know. But you know, Emma is a brilliant manager. She knows how to be successful. She knows how to set up teams well. We've seen that at Chelsea over however many years. She's got all the tools she needs. They're the USA, they've got some incredible players. We see it day in, day out with Emily. So I'm sure that adds an extra layer. 

She knows a couple of our players very, very well. So yeah, it'll be a big challenge but that's what you want in international football. And I think the Olympics are a special tournament because it's such a short tournament. You've not got a big squad, it's a quick turnaround. So it's a mental challenge, a physical challenge, a football challenge. So yeah, it'll be a tough tournament as it is and that obviously adds an extra layer of toughness. But yeah, I'm just looking forward to the challenge.

on the Asian Cup coming to Australia in 2026…

SC: Yes! How old will I be then? it's very exciting. I think obviously, the way the World Cup went, how it felt being here, playing on home soil, I think exactly what we needed was another home tournament. The Asian Cup is huge and we haven't won one in a while now and we're definitely due a trophy win. That would be a great opportunity to do it on home soil. I can only imagine the turnout based on the way the World Cup went. So it's exciting times and yeah, looking forward to that.