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Arsenal captain, Faye White, will lead her side into the new season expecting Everton to challenge the Gunners recent dominance of the Women's game.
Arsenal may have collected an impressive haul of silverware over the years, including ten Premier League titles and nine FA Cup victories, but last season, an Amy Kane goal in The FA Tesco Premier League Cup Final saw the Toffess defeat Arsenal and claim their first trophy for ten years.
Arsenal did win the Premier League, however Everton finished just five points and one place behind their London rivals.
The two teams go head-to-head in The FA Tesco Women's Community Shield on 7 August and Faye believes both sides will be desperate to gain the early psychological advantage.
"After that Cup Final win last season," Faye told TheFA.com, "Everton might think we’re there for the taking, so it’s really important that we go out for the win to prove we’re still strong and that we’re up for the challenge.
"As a player, you always want to be tested and I think Everton will provide us with a great test all year," Faye explained.
Arsenal have set the standard for teams in The FA Women's Premier League and have won the title for the last five years. However, with the loss of three key players during the summer and an Everton team improving at a rapid rate, Faye knows next season could be their toughest to date.
"Every season at Arsenal seems to get more difficult. Like any team, we want to win every trophy and because we won the quadruple two years ago, everyone expects us to do it again. Unfortunately it’s not quite that easy!
"We've recently lost Mary Phillip, Anita Asante and Lianne Sanderson from the squad, which is a blow, and although I'm the captain, I think it’s extremely important for the Women’s game that clubs, like Everton, provide Arsenal with more of a challenge than perhaps we’ve had in recent seasons.
For now though, Faye is totally focused on The FA Women's Community Shield, which will be held at Macclesfield Town's Moss Rose ground.
"We want to win every match and next season begins with the Community Shield. It'll be nice to have another trophy in the cabinet."
Source:fa.com |
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