Interview

Walti: “I’ve always believed in this team”

After five seasons spent with our club, Lia Walti hopes that our huge Conti Cup victory "gives us a lot of confidence moving forward."

“It feels amazing," our Swiss midfielder said pitchside at Selhurst Park. "We've had a few finals against Chelsea now which we lost, so today it was absolutely amazing with all the supporters behind us. We could finally put the ball back in the net!

"I think we put on a great performance on the pitch today. That's what we've all trained for our whole careers, for the games in big stadiums with big crowds. It was an amazing day."

Despite going a goal behind incredibly early on in the final, we never let it phase us and stormed to a comprehensive comeback by the half-time whistle. 

"To be fair, I didn't really think we did anything wrong [for the goal] - it was just great play from Chelsea! There wasn't much for us to discuss. We just had to keep going and take our chances. And we finally did. Compared to last week, we took our chances tonight and that was the difference."

For Walti, the unmatched support from our Gooners spurred the team on to greater heights and she was delighted to celebrate with them at full-time. 

"I could hear the fans all game long - it was incredible. Honestly, from minute one to the last minute, I could hear them all the time. When we had the trophy and did the rounds with the fans, it was just incredible to celebrate with them because they are a big part of the club as well."

A truly well-deserved victory on Sunday afternoon provided us with some long-awaited silverware – only our second title in five years, yet Walti's belief in our side never wavered. 

"I've been playing here for five seasons now and before today, we'd only won one trophy. So this feels absolutely great. I have always believed in the team because we have great quality and we are able to win trophies like that. Today against Chelsea was a tough game, but in the end, I think the better team won. I hope this gives us a lot of confidence moving forward."

Watch the full interview with Lia by clicking play on the video above.