Arsenal are looking to spoil Emma Hayes’ Chelsea Swansong as Gunners midfielder Lia Walti opened up about his battle ahead of the London derby.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Hayes will become the highest paid women’s coach and trainer in the world and will join the US Women’s National Team after this season.
He boasts an impressive record in West London, winning 13 major trophies with Chelsea, including four consecutive WSL titles. However, Walti is determined to stop Hayes and Chelsea at the Emirates when the two sides lock horns in the big London derby on Sunday.
WHAT WALT SAID
Speaking to reporters before the game, Walti said: “Emma has done so much for women’s football in the English league. We all have the utmost respect for what he has done here. But we also don’t want him to end up at the top of this era. We’re here to compete with Chelsea, we’re here to win trophies and we’re not going to be nicer to them just because it’s Emma’s last year, that’s for sure.
We respect everything he’s done here and he’s got a really exciting job ahead of him, but the focus is on us. We want to win not only Chelsea but the league, we want to win trophies and I hope we can make it a little difficult for him to rise this year.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Arsenal have recovered from a difficult start to the season and are currently second in the WSL, three points behind Chelsea. A win would put them level with the reigning champions, but history is not on their side as the Gunners have not beaten Chelsea in the league since 2021.
;The season is still very young but we all know that these games can make a difference at the end,” he said. “I think we did well against Manchester City and Manchester United, but against Chelsea it will be even more big “Firstly, they are three points ahead of us, and secondly, Chelsea against Arsenal – it can’t really get any bigger.
From our previous games they have mostly been close games so it will depend on who is better on the day and maybe the underdogs can make a big difference for both teams. I’m excited and really looking forward to it, he added.
– At the moment we have good momentum with the team, but we are concentrating on ourselves. For sure, we only have one goal in front of the home crowd and we want to win this game. It would set us up well for the next games after that in the new yea
WHAT NEXT FOR WALTI?
With more than 57,000 tickets already sold, Arsenal aim to break their own WSL attendance record in the upcoming contest, underlining the heightened anticipation for this crucial encounter.
And Walti remains determined to stand up to the expectations of the crowd and project themselves as role models to the young fans.
You can hear the passion from the fans and I think the club is building a great culture. We can be role models for the little kids, and she said. and They come to see us and want to do what we do. This is the best part. It’s amazing to see the kids in the crowd smiling and yelling at us and wishing they were right where we are someday.