Frida Maanum has been nominated for WSL Player of the Month for September and has opened the season in fine form, scoring winning goals against Rosenborg and Leicester, as well as notching against Hacken and Manchester City. All of those efforts have come from inside the box with secondary runs into the area.
Arseblog News asks Jonas Eidevall whether the coaching staff have worked on getting the Norwegian into more advantageous scoring positions. ‘We have worked a lot with her but, more importantly, she has worked very hard on the training pitch. She is really ambitious about improving her game and to find the next level.
‘She has a really good long distance shot, we haven’t seen as much of that yet, this season. But her consistently getting into these golden zone opportunities and she has really improved in that and she is getting the rewards.’
Arseblog News also asks about Kathrine Kuhl, who has only played three minutes so far this season. Kuhl signed for Arsenal in January 2023 and spent the second half of last season on loan at Sunday’s opponents Everton. Arseblog News also asks Eidevall what he considers to be the 21-year-old’s best position.
‘Ke has not been playing so many competitive minutes so far this season, neither did Daphne van Domselaar before the game against Leicester. That is the situation we have in the squad when we have a lot of competition, sometimes really, really good footballers don’t get to play that much.
‘I have to say when I see Ke in training, she is developing a lot and she is a great football player. The primary position I see her in is an 8, cos she is a hybrid between 6 and 10. She is comfortable on the ball and can go great distances and she can go box to box and really, really good in covering pressing distance.
‘I see a lot of potential in Ke, she is one of these culture bearers for us, when we say, ‘even if you don’t play, do you apply yourself 100% in training every day? Do you make the group better?’ She is 100% one of those players.
‘There are never any guarantees for playing time for any player but if you keep applying yourself, the best way possible, when you get the opportunities, you will be in the best position possible to take them.’
I hope Ke gets a chance soon.
I’d be shocked if she didn’t start v Valerenga
Kuhl is a good player, just wish she was more dynamic with the ball at her feet. More game time will help improve that I think. Let’s see her play more.