Rehanne's reaction to FA Cup derby draw

Rehanne Skinner is relishing the prospect of a north London derby as Tottenham Hotspur Women bid to make history in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup at the start of next season.

Friday’s draw for the quarter-finals of the prestigious competition paired us with a trip to Arsenal on Wednesday 29 September.

The club has yet to venture beyond the last eight of the Women’s FA Cup. The team reached the quarter-finals for the first time last season, but were beaten, you guessed it, by Arsenal. Now the derby rivals will do battle again...

“Once you get to this stage of the competition, you know it’s going to be a test,” said Head Coach Rehanne. “We’ll have a couple of league matches at the start of next season leading up to this, and this will be a great game for everyone.”

Arsenal ran out 6-1 winners in the Women’s Super League last October but the next two derbies were tighter, including a 2-2 draw in the Continental League Cup that the Gunners edged 5-4 on penalties.

Rehanne is determined to close the gap on our neighbours, one of the most decorated teams in the women’s game, including 14 FA Cup victories.

“We’re still in a development phase at Tottenham and we’re trying to shift that landscape moving forward,” she explained. “We know this is a big test, but this is the direction of travel we want to move towards. That’s part of the Club’s journey.

“We’ve taken them to a penalty shoot-out and we’ve improved overall in terms of the squad. Next season is a really interesting prospect. There’s a bit of the unknown going into next season, and we’ll see where the land lies when we get there!”

Quarter-final draw

Manchester City v Leicester City
Birmingham City v Chelsea
Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur
Brighton v Charlton

Ties played Wednesday 29 September