Interview

Souza – It’s going to be awesome!

Rafaelle Souza can’t wait to get started in north London.

The Brazil international became our third signing of the January transfer window on Tuesday afternoon - and now she’s determined to win titles in the famous red and white.

We spoke to Souza after putting pen to paper - and this is what she said:

on how it finally feels to be here in north London…

Oh my god, I’m so excited. I feel great to be here and to be playing in such a strong and competitive league. I feel awesome.

on her emotions when she first heard about Arsenal’s interest…

I got so excited! After living in China for six years, being here in the UK with such a good club, I was in heaven!

on how excited she is to get started…

I can’t really describe it, I’m very, very excited and I brought my mum with me. She’s loving the city, she’s loving the culture here and I’m so excited to play and be on the pitch and be like the other Brazilians who have passed through Arsenal. It’s going to be awesome.

on the fans tracking her social media accounts…

Oh, it makes me very happy! I can see that the fans here are really crazy about this club and I’m really excited and happy to be here. They were going crazy on my Twitter and Instagram account saying that I’m going to be here and I’m very happy and very excited. I wish it would be a surprise, but right now I think they know for sure!

on whether she knows that she will be the first Brazilian to play for Arsenal Women…

Yeah, I heard about it and I didn’t know that, but I hope to represent Brazil women’s football as much as possible and show my Brazilian skills and maybe bring more Brazilians here. I’m very proud of it.

on meeting Gabriel, Martinelli and Edu…

Yeah, I talked to Edu before signing here and he’s a nice guy. He used to work for the national team in Brazil and I know him now, but I want to meet the other Brazilian players here and I want to be part of this Brazilian community here in Arsenal.

on life in London…

I just got from the airport and came straight here and I’m very excited to play, so I want to get everything ready to play and then I have some time to get to know London.

on her new teammates…

I’m really excited to play with every player here and I think they’re great, but I played in the Olympics against Miedema and it was a really good challenge playing against her and now I can play with her, so I’m proud of it and I’m really excited. It’s going to be a good test, a very good challenge.

on her message to the fans…

I just want to say that I’m really, really happy and proud to be here. I wish it would be a surprise, but I think they’re so crazy about this club that they already know it. I want to be the best Brazilian here and I know I’m the first women’s one, but the men’s too, I want to make history here and I’m going to bring a lot of titles for this club. I want to have a good experience, I want to interact with them and maybe team them a little Portuguese.