Carter - My battle with Flaherty

By Lloyd Webb

Dan Carter will put her friendship with Gilly Flaherty to one side when Arsenal play Chelsea in the Women’s FA Cup final on Saturday.

The forward will face a number of her former team-mates at Wembley, including captain Katie Chapman and recent departure Jade Bailey, as the Gunners look to secure a record 14th FA Cup victory.

But it is the battle with Flaherty that Carter is most looking forward to.

“I’m good friends with a lot of the Chelsea girls,” she told Arsenal Player. “On the pitch there is no such things as friends. We will wait for that after in the lounge.

“[Me and Gilly Flaherty] go way back. We were at Arsenal for a few good years together then she left me to join Arsenal. We are still in contact.

"I’m saving the catch up until after the game, but maybe there will be a bit of banter but we will keep professional.

“She is a good a one versus one defender, strong, good on the ball, good in the air. We both know a bit about each other so it will be a good competition.

"On the pitch you don’t see anyone as your friend, you are both wearing different kits. You just want to do the best for your team."

Arsenal have already faced Chelsea once this season, suffering a 2-0 defeat at Meadow Park in April, and Carter is hoping to exact revenge on Saturday.

"We have improvements to make and we have spoke about them,” she said. "Hopefully when we get back on the pitch we can rectify those and it will be a better performance from the team.

“I don’t think there is any question that Chelsea have a very good front line as well as players on the bench they can bring on. We have just got to concentrate on ourselves and make sure our game is right. If we deliver to our capabilities then it should be a good game.”

Tickets for the match are available for £15 adults and £5 concessions, with FREE admission for children aged 16 or under. Click  here for details.