Arsenal manager Vinai Venkatesham has emphasized the club’s ongoing commitment to its women’s team ahead of the 2021/22 season, bringing a return to Champions League football by providing more investment and support, better facilities and games at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal finished third in the WSL last season after a strong end to the campaign, overtaking Manchester United and securing the last of the league’s three Champions League places.
It has already been a hectic summer for the Gunners, with Leah Williamson signing a new contract, the long-term goal of Mana Iwabuchi arriving, negotiations to sign Nikita Parris from Lyon and the appointment of the new head coach Jonas Eidevall.
Venkatesham has said that the process of providing increased support began towards the end of the summer of 2020 when he held talks with some of the woman’s team players and staff.
Arsenal will build a new women’s building at the club’s training ground in London / Alex Burstow / Getty Images
“We have significantly increased and improved staff in the back room who support our women’s team, so we bring with us a new head of sports medicine and sports science, we have increased the staff of our medical team, we have continued on board a nutritionist, we have created a new role for individual development coaches, we have brought in more operating staff, he tells Arsenal.com.
“We have really changed the line-up behind the scenes quite significantly to ensure that our players have everything they need to succeed on the pitch. There is also more than that.
“When Jonas joins us at the beginning of the pre – season this year, we will sit down with him and some of the players and also sit down with the staff for a really exciting new project, which will be to build a new football building for women here. in London Colney. ”
Arsenal are also trying to get the women’s team even more in line with the men’s side and the academy to create ‘synergies’ between each part of the club, as well as to use technology and analytical platforms currently used by the men’s team to develop their female players.
Arsenal have promised closer links between men’s and women’s teams / Alex Burstow / Getty Images
“I guess we have always been a big investor in women’s football overall. We invest millions of pounds a year every year in women’s football. Next year we will invest much more than ever before, says Venkatesham.
Games played at Premier League stadiums have become an important part of women’s games over the past season. Arsenal hosted Bayern Munich in a pre-season match at the Emirates Stadium in 2019 and have not been back since, but the club is now ready to take that step forward.
The majority of Arsenal matches will remain at Meadow Park, Borehamwood, which Venkatesham called a “fantastic stadium”, but at least two matches will also be played at the Emirates.
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