Cloe Lacasse scored twice as Arsenal defeated London City Lionesses in the Conti Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday evening. The Canadian international spoke exclusively to Arseblog News after the game.
On scoring twice and getting a full 90 minutes…
It was great to be able to get some minutes and contribute, we wanted this win especially after what happened at the weekend. Our fans deserve it we deserve it as players and we want to continue in this cup run and continue into a really big game against Manchester United at the weekend.
On having to be patient to get her chance to start…
Every day we put a shift in in training that people don’t see, I am hoping my abilities and the staff give me confidence when I do come in, tonight I was able to contribute to the team and have a good shift. I am hoping to build off this, to get more minutes, more goals and to keep helping the team.
On what Jonas Eidevall’s message was at half-time…
As a club, you can never get comfortable. We were winning 2-0 but that wasn’t enough and we want to do more, we want to build and create those moments and be able to capitalise on them and have those special moments and special goals. We came out with that intensity in the second half and we were able to kill off the game, so that was positive.
On holding the width for the team after Eidevall said he felt the team didn’t do that well enough in the West Ham game…
I am definitely a player that is very direct and I love to play with that empty space in behind, that is definitely one of my attributes as an attacker. That was a game where I could positively contribute even though we didn’t get the result we wanted. It is about having that patience sometimes if you don’t get the ball. Sometimes you want to come inside and get the ball more but you have to look at those spaces.
Back ⏩ Front@cloe_lacasse finishes the move with a brilliant strike#ContiCup @ArsenalWFC pic.twitter.com/mnuSJYZgn5
— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) February 14, 2024
On going away for the Gold Cup in the middle of the season…
It is definitely strange for the players that play in Europe because we are having to stop our club seasons while going out. At the same time, there is the Olympics coming up so it’s a tricky balance but we know at our clubs we have a handful of skilful players who can always contribute. Now I am going to go and help Canada but when I come back I want to be able to help Arsenal just as much.
On Bev Priestman’s decision to let her and Sabrina D’Angelo stay with Arsenal for this week before the Gold Cup…
Our first game is a little bit later on so she knew the importance of these games and having that momentum with our club teams because at the end of the day, we are with our club teams most of the year, so we have to be able find that balance between club and country. Bev has found a way to speak with us positively, we know what our roles are going to be coming in, we have done extra video sessions online so we know what we need to do when we get there.
Heading it home from close range 👊#ContiCup @ArsenalWFC pic.twitter.com/AZoMXO9SR6
— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) February 14, 2024
Marvellous
Well done, Cloe – kept trying, getting into good positions and it paid off. Twice! Very effective player in the right circumstances. Quicksilver reactions, too.