Jen Beattie is back at Arsenal after six years and, despite being in similar surroundings and with a coach she has worked with before, things couldn't feel more different.
The Scottish defender, who joined champions Arsenal from Manchester City over the summer, worked with manager Joe Montemurro during a loan spell with Melbourne City, and was honoured that the Australian wanted to bring her back to the club.
“He is the kind of guy that anyone would want to work for,” Beattie said. “I would say he was a big part [of coming back]. Like any move, there are always various reasons why a player decides to move but Joe was definitely a positive one within a mix of reasons.
“I was massively honoured that it was Joe. Someone that has worked with you already and wants to bring you back – that is the biggest compliment a player can take.”
Beattie won back-to-back titles with Arsenal before leaving to play in the French league with Montpellier, and the club she comes back to is streets ahead of the one she left in 2013.
“It is so different,” Beattie said. “When I left we were still semi-professional. I don’t think we trained at the men’s training ground, if we did it was in the evening, so to come back into it now at such an exciting time, having won the League and Joe being back in, all the infrastructure is there – it is like night and day.”
It is not only Arsenal who have changed, with the WSL stepping into a new era with Barclays sponsorship, and Beattie only sees the division going one way.
“I honestly think that this year will be the most competitive season the WSL has seen,” Beattie said.
“It is becoming more competitive, the likes of Tottenham creating a squad this year, West Ham improving and [Manchester] United coming into the League. It is only going one way and it will improve from here.”
With Tottenham taking their first steps in the WSL, a new chapter of the north London derby will be opened this season, with their first League meeting taking place at the new £1billion Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I think it being played at Tottenham’s stadium is huge,” she said. “Players can only focus on playing and putting on good performances. But if you put them in incredible stadiums like that and the Emirates, it makes the whole day a better experience.”
