On Friday afternoon, Lia Walti sat down with a small number of journalists ahead of Saturday’s North London derby away at Spurs. Arseblog News starts proceedings by asking Walti about the difficulty of Tuesday night’s 4-0 win over Juventus despite the scoreline.
Juve’s physical player for player marking approach meant it was a game of physical duels, especially for the central midfield players and Walti concurs that the game was far more difficult than the result suggested. ‘It was a really difficult game. The score might make it look like it was easy but it wasn’t, it was a tough, physical game for us.
‘We needed to adapt into it. We don’t usually play teams who mark over the pitch in a one against one. We needed to find solutions first and we started the game a little bit lucky with that big save from Daph, otherwise the game could go a different way if we concede there.’ But Walti says that the emphasis in the score line is a result of the work the team has done on becoming more ruthless in games.
‘What we did well was that when we scored, we talked in the last couple of weeks about being ruthless and I think we worked a lot on being efficient both in the attacking third and also defensively. As you could see the players the players who came on from the bench made the difference for us.
‘It was a good score in the end for us but not an easy away game, never easy to beat Italian teams and it will be a hard game next week as well.’ Interim coach Renee Slegers swapped Lia and her long time midfield partner Kim Little for tactical reasons related to how Arsenal pressed on the night. Walti says the swap over wasn’t a big deal.
‘We all need to be flexible in our positions, in midfield we are capable of playing on both sides, sometimes it happens we are a single pivot as well. It is about building relationships not only with Kim but the players around and it changes from right side to left side.
‘It was a tactical decision in that game but sometimes you end up in your natural position on the left too. For us, it is not a big change but it helped the team to make the pressing in the best possible way.’ Having been at the club since 2018, Walti is one of Arsenal’s most experienced players and the captain of her national team. She is asked how she brings that experience to bear within the group.
‘Off the pitch, it is more about what type of character you have and I have a lot of experience but I am naturally a person who likes to take responsibility too. I like to lead by example and lead young players. On the pitch, experience obviously helps, especially with defensive positioning and controlling the game.
‘I try to bring that on the pitch when I am on the pitch and off the pitch I am trying to see the game through my eyes and help any players who need that help.’ Walti is also asked about Renee Slegers and her interim spell in charge of the club, which has led to an uptick in results. Walti is asked what Renee has brought in her short spell in charge.
‘She is really calm, she has stayed absolutely true to herself, you cannot see big changes in her behaviour compared to when she was in the assistant role. We feel full trust and clarity, she knows our game plan she is trying to invest a lot of time in tactical information.
‘At the start of the season we didn’t perform well in a lot of games, we didn’t get the best results, now we have a bit of momentum on our side.’ Asked whether she wants Slegers to stay on as the Head Coach, Lia is necessarily a little more coy.‘I would like to keep her in the team for sure, but that is not my decision to make. She is doing a great job in her role right now and we will see what the club decides.’
This leads to a question as to whether female coaches are better positioned to unlock the potential of women’s teams. Walti is not convinced it is that clear cut.
‘I have been trained by male managers and female managers and I think to be honest, it is more about character. I have had female coaches who have been more of a typical male character and I have had male coaches who has had more feelings for how women work.
‘Personally, it doesn’t matter. You want someone who brings quality and has good knowledge about football, if they are male or female I don’t think players really care.’ Walti recently started to take her UEFA A License badges which, she says, have given her a renewed perspective.
‘With the growth of the women’s game we would obviously like to see more female coaches. I am doing the UEFA A License at the moment with some of the other girls and you can see at the moment that they are pushing female players to be coaches in the future to grow that part of the game, which is great. As a player though, it doesn’t matter.’ She is also not convinced that playing experience is mandatory when it comes to being a good coach.
‘In general maybe it helps to have experience as a player, whether they are male or female because you have a better understanding and empathy in some moments. But I have had great coaches in the past who haven’t been professional footballers. I see it with the A License, it is so hard to coach a team. Every moment we have makes it a little bit better.’
The Gunners travel across North London to play Tottenham on Saturday and Walti says her teammate and friend Leah Williamson has helped to impress on anyone who was in any doubt about the importance of a North London derby. ‘Leah said it to us all in training today that there is nothing bigger than the North London derby and I think that is the mentality we have to bring to the pitch tomorrow.
‘We lost to them in their stadium last season and that hurt us a lot, we don’t want that to happen again. We want to use our momentum and our energy and bring it on the pitch tomorrow and show that North London is red!’ This weekend, all WSL and Championship teams will play their fixtures in their club’s main stadiums.
Walti says that she is ideally positioned to appreciate the progress of the women’s game in England. ‘I appreciate being in the generation that experienced both sides. We were used to playing in front of a certain number of people who came to stadiums that weren’t really stadiums and now we get the chance to play in the big stadiums in front of a lot of people and that is something we always dreamed about.
‘You can see in England a lot of clubs are pushing the female game in the right direction and giving female players the same opportunities. It is a dream come true for fans and players.’ Lia missed the end of last season with a knee injury and she admits that, at the age of 31, every injury creates a measure of self-doubt.
‘I could say so much about this! Injuries never happen at the right time, it is always the end of the world. You always have to figure yourself out and fight yourself back. It was a long journey during the summer break during rehab, so maybe you don’t have the time off you usually have. But in the end, you want to be fit for country and club so you do everything you possibly can.
‘After injuries you often have to be patient, patent with yourself, patient with the chance to play again. It took me a while to get back into the team and you never know how good you are coming back, I am not 18 anymore so can you reach the level again?
‘There are a lot of question marks in your head and a lot of insecurities, so it is even nicer when you are back on the pitch and you see you can reach that level and you can help the team.
‘I appreciate my health even more now and I enjoy being on the pitch every day and being able to perform at a good level and play for one of the best clubs in the world in Arsenal and prepare for a home Euros. I do everything to stay healthy and I really appreciate that I can get back to that level.’
I think Arsenal fans everywhere appreciate Walti returning to the team and they certainly appreciate the level at which she continues to play.
