Catley: Tough times have brought Arsenal closer together

Steph Catley says the sheer number of setbacks Arsenal have suffered this season have brought the squad closer together.

Arsenal suffered an agonising semi-final exit from the Women’s Champions League at the hands of Wolfsburg earlier this week, compounded by a ruptured ACL injury sustained by defender Laura Wienrother.

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Wienroither’s lay-off marks the latest in a line of ACL injuries this season for Arsenal, who are already operating without England captain Leah Williamson, first-choice striker Vivianne Miedema and Euro 2022 player of the tournament Beth Mead. Caitlin Foord and Kim Little have also been sidelined with hamstring injuries.

The injuries have dealt a blow to the Gunners’ already slim hopes of lifting the WSL title. Arsenal are nine points behind leaders Man Utd with two games in hand, and face relegation strugglers Leicester live on Sky Sports on Friday night.

“When you go through tough times it does bring you closer together,” Catley told Sky Sports News.

“I think watching so many of our team-mates this year go down injured, go through heavy, heavy things with family and friends, it does bring you closer and it does draw you in more to the person as a human being, rather than just a footballer.

“And I do think that’s something we do have as a squad, where we’re all invested in each other as human beings and making sure that we are all okay off the field.

“I think that brings with us a unity when we are on the field because we are on the same page, we’re able to communicate really well, we’ve got each other’s backs and we’ll fight for each other 100 per cent for as long as it takes – for 90 minutes or 120 minutes – and give everything we have for each other because we want the best for each other.

Catley: Injured players spur us on

“It does feel like one of those things when you sit back and think it’s not fair, really, [and you question] how it is possible for it to happen to so many players in one season. Think about the names – Kim Little, Leah Williamson, Beth Mead, Viv [Miedema], Caitlin [Foord], some of our most impotant players.

“For that to happen in one season is hard to describe and is one of those things that when you’re in the moment you just kind of keep rolling with it, you keep taking the punches, you keep fighting and you keep sticking together.

“But I think those girls have done an incredible job in terms of taking what has happened to them, and as much as it has hurt them and it hurts for them not to be able to help us, they have been so powerful for the group.

“They’ve really stuck by us and been available for whatever we need, they’ve been helpful on game days, they’re constantly watching the games, they’re giving us advice and trying to help us from the sidelines as much as they can.

“I think that has kept us really close, and as players that are able to play, you look at them and you think ‘we’re the lucky ones, we’re the ones that are out on the field and able to do what they want to do’.”

“That sort of spurs you on to work for them and make sure you are putting everything you can out on the field and try and do the best thing for this team and this club.”

With ground to make up on leaders Man Utd in the race for the title, Catley says it is difficult to look beyond Friday’s evening game against Leicester.

“It’s another challenge. There are five games left and we are really trying to focus on it game-by-game,” she said.

“We’re not thinking about what points we need here and there, it’s literally just how can we get the most out of every single game, every line-up, every player, substitute – we are just focusing on the detail of every game that is right in front of us because I think that’s all we can do.

“You can’t think too far ahead, otherwise you’ll not do what’s the best at the moment. It’s Leicester now – and that’s all that we’re focusing on.”

Emirates encounter ‘an emotional rollercoaster’

Monday’s Champions League semi-final tie with Wolfsburg at the Emirates Stadium proved to be a day of mixed emotions, with Arsenal playing in front of a sold-out crowd before eventually succumbing to a 3-2 loss in extra time, crashing out 5-4 on aggregate.

“It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster the whole day,” Catley said. “I think the crowd, the whole atmosphere, everything surrounding that moment was highly emotional.

“After the game I was disappointed, exhausted because of everything that had happened in the game, but I was able to take a moment as I was walking around to look into the crowd, to look into the fans’ faces to appreciate what we had just done in terms of selling out the Emirates and how far women’s football has come.

“Since I first started playing in the W-League, for instance, playing in front of mum and dad and a couple of others, to the point where it was 60,000 at the Emirates, screaming, dedicated emotional fans.

“I was getting a bit teary, walking around and taking it all in. It was a pretty incredible moment but the game itself was obviously disappointing, but one that we’ve looked back on.

“We’ve felt the emotions and we’ve been able to take away the positives away from it in terms of even the injuries and setbacks we’ve had this year.

“To be able to come out with that fight and that passion that we had for playing for each other and to perform the way that we did and take Wolfsburg all the way into extra-time – there were definitely positives we took from it, but it was still heartbreaking.”