Kim Little says her Arsenal side are well aware of the threat Brighton pose to their hopes of a first league title in seven years. The Gunners are three points from winning the WSL with two games to play. Should they fail to seal the deal at the Amex on Sunday, the season will be decided on the final day against rivals Manchester City, an eventuality the club captain says, with some understatement, would be “dramatic”.
“There’s always that little doubt in your mind, maybe that’s just me,” says Little. “But I think maybe it’s better to be like that than to expect the best always. Of course, we know we need to perform and turn up on Sunday and if we don’t do that then it will go down to the last game of the season. We just hope that we will play well and get the three points.”
Arsenal cruised to a comfortable 4-1 home win in the reverse fixture in November, but Ini Umotong’s ninth-minute goal was a warning. “We know we’ve still got work to do and we’re not there yet,” says Little. “I didn’t play in the earlier game in the season, I was out injured then, but I remember at Borehamwood Brighton scored first, a sort of breakaway goal, so we’re very aware that they have a threat and we need to be at our best to win.”
Sunday’s match is also being played at the Amex, rather than Brighton’s usual home at Crawley Town. That adds an unknown to the task, though Little is happy to be part of the next wave of growth. “It’s great that Brighton have showcased the game in this way, one of the last games of the season. The investment and support of Brighton in women’s football has been great and it’s just nice to be a part of another step in the right direction.”
She laughs at the suggestion that Arsenal’s seven years without a title could have been due to her leaving for Seattle Reign and the NWSL in 2013 – “I’m just glad to be back at the club and to win things again” – but Arsenal going so long without Champions League football is less funny, and watching Manchester City and Chelsea in recent years has been motivating. “We want to be a part of that,” says Little.
With four Dutch Euro 2017 winners in the team, Little’s return along with a host of other decorated internationals gave the feeling that players were buying into the project at the only English side to have lifted the Champions League, in 2007.
“It’s a big part of why we’ve been successful,” says Little. “We’ve had players brought in to the club that want to be part of building and knowing it will take a little bit of time to get to where we want to.
“Knowing that all these players have been here for the last year, two years, three years, some players longer, the reward of walking out in the Champions League will be even sweeter.”
Pursuing that reward has not been without cost. With an injury crisis that left, at times, seven starting internationals sitting in the stands, their capitulations in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea and the Continental League Cup final against Manchester City have almost felt like necessary sacrifices in pursuit of the league.
“Our squad and the number of injuries we’ve had has not allowed us to perform to the level we want in all three competitions, which is frustrating for us and disappointing,” explains Little.
“But without a doubt because of the amount of time it’s been since we’ve won a league, that has had to be our priority along with getting back in the Champions League. We’ve done one of those things and we want to finish it off with a trophy this year.”
Was there ever a point where she thought it was one injury too far? “No, you know it felt tough towards the end of 2018,” says Little. “We had very few players to choose from. But the mentality we have, the will to be successful and grinding out the results even though we maybe haven’t performed the way we have wanted to has been so important to being successful this year and to being in the position we are in now leading in to the last two games.
“It’s credit to every single player and our staff that we’ve managed to get to a place now where we’ve got players in every position, we’ve got players who have been able to change positions because we’ve not had players fit and I think the adaptability of everyone and how they’ve done it is something I’m extremely proud of.”
