Arsenal boss Montemurro is delighted that Chelsea and Man City steal the spotlight as the WSL resumes

Manchester City and Chelsea have stolen much of the spotlight in preparation for the new season of the Women’s Super League – and Arsenal boss Joe Montemurro is quite pleased with that.

Signings by World Cup winners Rose Lavelle and Sam Mewis saw City take the headlines this summer, while Chelsea champions today signed Pernille Harder from Wolfsburg for what the German club called “a tax. record transfer for women’s game “.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s business has been perhaps a little more muted, building on a squad that has proven to be one of the best in the country, leaving them out of the conversation for some when it comes to this year’s WSL title.

Asked if it seems the focus is elsewhere, Montemurro, who won the league with Arsenal in 2018-19 after joining the club in 2017, said: “I think if I were to be brutally honest, I think the hype has been around City and Chelsea since I’ve been here.

“I am quite happy that Arsenal are doing what we are doing. We know what we are doing. We know where we are going.

“I can’t comment on what the other clubs’ policies and strategies are. As for me, we are very comfortable with where we are going, what we can do with the means we have.

“It is important for us to defend this brand and make sure we interpret our style.

“We believe in what we are trying to do and there is definitely more of a feeling or more of a hype from Chelsea and City.”

Realistically, canceling a team of this quality would be ridiculous.

On Sunday, Arsenal have a chance to show people they mean it when they face a well-established Reading side in the top half of the table, a side that harbor ambitions to challenge for the top three this year.

It is also a chance to recover from the Champions League quarter-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last month, in which Montemurro was disappointed that the Gunners “didn’t stick to [their] way “to play.

“We have lost our identity and that’s keeping the ball,” he added.

“Even if it’s just about keeping the ball for the sake of keeping the ball so we can gain confidence, this has to be what we do and that’s what we always do. And we’ve lost it.”

Newcomer Lydia Williams, Australia’s No. 1 goalkeeper, will be absent with an ankle injury, while center-back Jen Beattie is on touch-and-go with a back injury.

The latter is an absence that could leave the team a little short in the center of defense, but Montemurro says he is confident in the versatility of his squad to cover the Scotsman, without him having to return to the market before the transfer window. closes.

“We are quite happy with the scenario at the moment,” he said.

“We have midfielders who feel comfortable playing in those areas and the type of central defenders we want to be suitable for that: central defenders or central defenders who are all quite dynamic.”

Malin Gut, a midfielder, and Steph Catley, a left-back, are two of Montemurro’s summer signings who are comfortable in the role, with his other rookie during the window being full-back Noelle Maritz.

With striker Caitlin Foord joining just before the Covid-19 pandemic suspended all football in England, she too can act as a new signing for the new season.

Only Williams are excluded from their WSL debut this weekend as Arsenal look to start the season with a bang.

“We try to make a statement every time we go out on the pitch,” added Montemurro.

“Like Arsenal, we try to play our style of football and we try to make sure we represent the club in the best possible way.

“We try to give our fans the joy they deserve and football the standard it deserves.”