Prior to Arsenal Women’s FA Cup tie with Bristol City this weekend, academy products Katie Reid and Laila Harbert sat down with a small circle of journalists. Here is a transcript of the round table with the pair. The italicised questions are from Arseblog News.
On who Laila, the captain of the England U17s, looks up to as a leader…
At Arsenal we have a lot of international captains, Wally, Leah, Katie McCabe, watching them and observing and taking what I learnt from them. I think one of the things they’ve showed me is that being a leader isn’t always about being the loudest on the pitch but showing it through actions.
On the step up from academy football to senior football…
KR: The step up is in the intensity and in the technical work. Everything they do is precise, things you can get away with in junior games you won’t get away with at this level so you have to adapt. Communication is on a different level too, everyone is constantly communicating and dictating so it is a huge step up. At the start it takes time to settle in and find your feet but as people speak around you, they expect you to give information back to them. If you don’t, it’s not a good thing and that helps you find your voice a lot.
On how both players came to be at the Arsenal academy…
LH: I was 9 when I came to Arsenal, I was doing a training session with Gemma Davison and the technical director came down and watched and at the end of the session said ‘do you want to sign for Arsenal?’ Ever since, I have gone through the age groups at the academy.
KR: I joined Arsenal at 13 in the U14s, I had played a bit of academy girls football but only a little bit. I had mainly played boys grassroots football and I really enjoyed that but it got to a stage where if I wanted to compete properly at the girls academy level, I trialled for Arsenal and got in.
On Laila being one of the first age groups to train in mixed boys and girls groups at Arsenal at U14 level, an initiative devised by Per Mertesacker…
LH: It forces you to step outside your comfort zone in an environment that you’re not naturally meant to be in, so finding your voice is really important and bringing your game. But all the boys were really supportive and some of them still train here in the U18s so I see some of them and staff around so I still see and communicate with some of those guys.
On how their loan spell at Watford in the second half of 2023-24 helped their games…
KR: Watford was a really good step for me, Laila and Michelle. It was my first experience of women’s football. Watford didn’t have a good season but it forced us to fight and learn the importance of winning and how to win games. A lot of the academy work is to do with performance and how you improve. Whereas that environment was about being able to compete properly, so that was a huge step for us so we could come back here and compete for Arsenal.
LH: The output and the decision making is another level from academy football. As out first senior loan we took the lessons from there to here and the staff and players could see there was a difference between our performances before and after going to Watford.
On whether either player will go out on loan in January…
KR: Right now we are focusing day by day. We are at Arsenal, If it (a loan) comes it comes, but right now we are taking it day by day and training the best we can.
LH: Being in the moment and seeing what happens is all we can do at this time.
On Laila captaining the England U17s at the U17 World Cup in Dominican Republic in October…
LH: It was a great experience, one that really shaped me as a player, seeing other central midfielders from other national teams and not just restricted to Europe. It shows you the level of the other midfielders around the country to compare yourself to and in senior environments. It was difficult to miss out on the medal but it makes you more hungry to go and compete next time.
On the growth they have seen in the women’s game in recent years…
KR: It’s so surreal seeing the UWCL semi final against Wolfsburg at a sold out Emirates and we are coming to women’s football at a time when the coverage is so big and we have so many fans. We hear stories from Kim and from Leah about how different it was 10 years ago and you have to appreciate how big this club is and how far the women’s game has come. When I look back on my career, I want to be able to say that I continued that legacy and that I won the Champions League, WSL, FA Cup at Arsenal.
LH: We came into here when we were 15 and players you were watching on TV and now you compete with them in training. But the girls are really supportive of us and there is quite a few of us coming through which is a great credit to the club. When I was growing up going to a game it was pretty easy to meet a player, now it’s quite hard to stop Less (Russo) for a picture. It just shows the levels.
On playing against Arsenal for Watford in last season’s FA Cup Fourth Round…
LH: This time last year we were both playing against Arsenal for Watford. That was such a surreal day going up against players you usually train with, all of a sudden you’re in a different colour kit. It was a great experience and we were grateful to the club for letting us play in that game.
