Interview

Miedema - Why Little link-up works so well

Miedema, Little

Vivianne Miedema and Kim Little were in unstoppable form on Thursday night, helping us to a 4-0 first-leg victory over Fiorentina in the Champions League.

The Netherlands international led the line as a lone No 9 and showed great understanding with our captain, as they scored twice and once respectively.

Read on for Miedema’s thoughts about their partnership, returning to the Champions League and more:

on playing with Little…

It’s always nice to have someone behind you that wants to play simple football. That’s what you need to do in a game like this and I think that’s how we scored the first two goals. We need to keep that up and everyone needs to be involved and from here we can only get better. 

on scoring her first while falling to the floor…

I struggled a bit with the pitch today! I fell over a couple of times and it was quite sticky to be fair! I saw a little spot in the goal and I just knew I had to go there, so even when I was falling over I knew that was my best chance.

on returning to the Champions League after finishing joint top scorer in her last European campaign…

It’s great to be back in the Champions League and that’s a big reason of why I came to Arsenal. I’m a No 9 and in these games you need to score, so I’m pleased I did that today.

on being subbed off early… 

Getting the rest was probably my favourite thing about today! It was really good for me and obviously we’ve got Manchester United coming up on Monday, so I just need to recover well and be ready for that game. I’m on my way back. I did struggle a bit but I played 60 minutes today and hopefully I’ll pick up 90 on Monday.