Emily Fox is looking forward to the extra motivation of playing at Emirates Stadium tomorrow as we face Juventus in the Champions League.
“I just think no matter how many people are there; we can hear them, and they make such a big difference for us and that stadium,” said Emily in the pre-Juventus press conference.
“Playing at home, playing at Emirates Stadium, it gives us that extra push that we need. Juventus is going to be a very tough opponent to play twice [in a row] and we both have a lot of stake, so I think having that extra motivation from the supporters is going to mean a lot.”
As she approaches her first full year as Gunner, our right-back is enjoying a stellar run of form in November, and she has company.
“Right now, we’re all very confident in each other and ourselves. With the entire team, we feel together. Each game has been very difficult and we’ve been learning from each and really finishing our chances and learning from the hiccups at the beginning of the season.
“Tomorrow is another game, another challenge, and we’re up for it. With the variety of games and opponents that we’ve played, it’s given us more confidence in the sense that we can deal with anything.”
Our squad find themselves unbeaten in six games, scoring 19 times along the way, which Emily believes is down to a number of factors.
“As a team, we all want to do better, and so it’s never just one person or one reason why we’re doing well or bad. And so with that, I think just collective responsibility and accountability to kind of come together and make things work and be better.
“I think it makes you hungrier and makes you want to do more and do better and I think with the coaching staff, they’ve done a really great job of giving us everything we need in terms of what we need to do to beat opponents. So with that, it’s giving us structure but also some freedom and creativity to work with each other and figure it out.”
Every word of Renee and Emily’s Juventus presser
When asked about what makes Emily such a special player, interim head coach Renee Slegers had this to say: “Foxy is always working hard. She’s extremely powerful physically, with and without the ball. She’s a great defender and she’s now been here for a while, she’s built up some great partnerships with players around her.
“She recognises spaces really well in the final third as well. So I think Foxy is a very versatile player and a good player to work with.”
Emily won the supporters’ Player of the Match vote for her performance against Juventus and she’s keen to repeat it.
“I think that’s why it is fun to play a team twice after not a lot of time. How I see it is that it’s more of a challenge: how will they be the same or will they change? And if they do, how can I still impact and help my team win? I’ll just see what I can do, to do my best.”
