When Arsenal take on Juventus in Turin tonight, they will be facing their old boss Joe Montemurro, who bought and coached the majority of the current Arsenal squad.
Montemurro didn’t buy Katie McCabe but he did welcome her back into the fold upon his arrival in 2017 when McCabe had been on loan at Glasgow City.
At that point, McCabe felt her Arsenal career was done and was in the process of looking for another club. After a couple of weeks of training, Montemurro told the Ireland captain he wanted to offer her a new contract.
Ahead of the game, Arseblog News asked Katie about her reunion with the coach she won the WSL with in 2019.
“I’ve not seen him since he left the club but it’s no secret that I have the utmost respect for Joe and how he helped me to grow as a player.
“He kept me in the Arsenal setup when I came back from loan in Glasgow. He loves to play good football and he’s so passionate about it. Having looked at some of Juventus’ games in European football and how good they have been, you can really see Joe’s ideas in the team.
“It’s going to be a really difficult game tomorrow night, I am looking forward to seeing him, he’s been a big part of my career.”
McCabe also says the squad are rallying around Beth Mead, who ruptured her ACL this weekend and will miss the remainder of the season.
“It’s devastating for her and for us, she has been so important for us over the last few years and she’s been on such a personal high with her achievements and having such a great Euros.
“She’s going to be a big loss but we’ve got a fantastic medical team around the club and they will be doing their utmost to get her back. She has great support from the team and we’ll be rallying around her.”
Need to get Viv leading the line for this match!