Rehanne's five-point preview - Arsenal

1 – First impressions

How did our Rehanne feel about her first experience of the north London derby as our Head Coach?

“We are all really looking forward to it. As a team, we can’t wait to step out at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, one of the best stadiums in the world in my opinion. For the players to get the opportunity to play there and show who we are and everything we have been working on in a home ground such as that is such a good opportunity for us.

“Esther Morgan did an interview the other day and she is obviously one of the young players who hasn’t had the opportunity to do this before. She was essentially reflecting what most of the team are thinking - ‘we’re really motivated to get into the stadium', ‘we can’t wait to play there’ - obviously being a north London derby, it adds a slightly different edge to it that makes it even more competitive and for sure, we are looking forward to the game and we can’t wait to get to tomorrow now.”

2 - Club support 

The squad is now training full-time at Hotspur Way and about to step out at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the second season running, which clearly shows how much the Club is invested in the team. What did it mean to Rehanne to be able to take the team to such a world-class stadium?

“Tottenham is a very progressive Club and is investing in the women’s team to try and drive us forwards so we can be as competitive as possible with the top end of the table. It’s a work in progress and it’s a journey for us. Saturday is another step on the journey for us and it clearly shows the backing from the Club side of things.

“Being in the Training Centre and having these unbelievable facilities on a day-to-day basis and then obviously having the opportunity to showcase what we are about at the stadium, it’s another opportunity for us to keep working towards where we want to get to.”

3 – Enjoying the occasion

While it is fantastic to be playing at the stadium, how do the players balance focusing on the game plan and getting a result while also enjoying the occasion?

“I think that is part of being a professional footballer, it is about getting points and taking each game as it comes. We are doing that in a fantastic venue, but it is another game which we need to work really hard to get points from in order for us to be able to continue our journey in the WSL. It’s an even nicer arena to be able to do that this week. It’s fantastic for us as a team to be able to do that.”

4 – Record-breaking attendance

We attracted an enormous crowd of over 38,000 fans in the same fixture last year, setting a new attendance record for the Barclays FA WSL. Our fans played such a huge role on that day, how much will they be missed this time?

“We’re missing fans on a weekly basis, it’s not just this game. With the record-breaking attendance last year, of course that plays a part in making players want to really show what they are about in front of those crowds.

"We have kind of almost got used to not having them there for all the reasons we are contending with but we know that we still need to make sure that we perform as well as we possibly can as Tottenham Hotspur Football Club to be able to put on a really good display for fans who are watching from home.

“Our game is being streamed live across all of our global digital channels on N17 Live, so that enables fans to tune in. We are doing all that we can as a Club to make the match as accessible as possible for our fans and it is a real shame that we don’t have the atmosphere that was generated on such an amazing occasion last year but for us, we still want to showcase what we’re about and get a good result for our fans who are watching from home.”

5 – Opportunity for new signings

We have a number of recent arrivals who haven’t yet experienced playing in the stadium. Captain Shelina Zadorsky is one of those, how much will her experience bring to the team?

“There's an awful lot of experience there. Shelina has had loads of experience on the international stage and I think for us, based on the leadership skills she demonstrates both on and off the pitch, that will really stand us in good stead going into a game like tomorrow.

“USA v Canada is a massive international fixture that she has recently played in during the SheBelieves tournament, so this is almost like the club version of that kind of derby really, which will certainly stand us in good stead. I think her performances have been excellent and she’s displaying those leadership skills on a regular basis on the pitch, which is fantastic for the team.”

Rehanne on Spurs TV