Defender’s switch from Arsenal has hit a nerve but lack of historical enmity means it is not controversial in the slightest

When the defender Emma Mitchell’s loan move from Arsenal to Tottenham was announced last Friday, it divided opinion. For some, it was a reverse Sol Campbell: men’s, women’s or youth football, it was crossing a line that should never be crossed.

Except players switching between rival or derby teams is anything but rare in women’s football. This summer Jen Beattie swapped the league runners-up Manchester City for a second spell at the champions Arsenal. Tottenham signed the winger Gemma Davison, who has played for Liverpool and Chelsea and began her career at Arsenal. Alex Greenwood played for Everton and Liverpool, then Manchester United (along with six other Liverpool players who moved there), before joining Lyon.

So why has Mitchell’s move hit a nerve?

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In a way it is as a result of successful moves to grow the women’s game. The Football Association and clubs have used local derbies synonymous with the men’s game to drive interest and attendances. With 18- to-34-year-old men identified as the biggest growth in attendees at women’s matches, finding hooks to pull them in has been a focus. So we have had the showpieces: the 31,213 for the first Manchester derby of the Women’s Super League era; 23,000 for Everton’s win at Anfield; 38,262 for Arsenal’s defeat of Tottenham at the new Tottenham stadium; 24,564 for Spurs’ WSL debut against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Clubs have launched “one club” campaigns to drive fans to support every player that pulls on a shirt for any of their teams. The media have helped to drive the narrative with derby headlines, the tensions thrust to the fore. It is a part of growing the game, building hype, getting people emotionally invested.

It is a good strategy. But it is hard to transfer the rivalries. Animosity takes time, and history builds rivalries. Arsenal have 15 top-division titles, whereas Tottenham are in their maiden WSL season. Before this campaign their previous two meetings were a 6-0 pre-season win and a 10-0 victory in the FA Cup in 2017 for Arsenal.

The clubs are rivals, the women’s teams are not. The same goes for Manchester City, who finished last season with a domestic cup double, and Manchester United, who were promoted to the WSL at the first attempt. United’s arrival and investment mean they are climbing fast but, for now, they are not title rivals.

The risk with promoting these games as big acrimonious encounters is that they become too one-sided and fans are put off. Luckily the big-stadium games have had narrow margins, with the underdogs rising to the occasion.

The history is being built but we are in a transition period.

Historically, women’s football has seen fans cross the divide by supporting a different team to their men’s side. It sounds strange, but for fans of clubs who didn’t have a women’s team or had a underfunded one, they found a home in the women’s game at a rival club. A long-term women’s football follower who supports Chelsea’s men may well support Arsenal’s women. That is an increasingly rare breed as clubs throw their weight behind their women’s teams, but for a significant period it was only really Arsenal, of London’s Premier League clubs, who invested in and cared about their women’s team and thus had the best players.

With the growth and professionalism uneven and the women’s game unable to set up players for life in the way the men’s game does, it is hard to criticise transfers that seemingly go against the grain.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Emma Mitchell celebrates after scoring for Arsenal against Bristol City in December. Photograph: Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo/Shutterstock

Mitchell has been barely playing. She has made 119 appearances for Arsenal since 2013, the fifth-highest in the club’s current squad, but has only three starts and five substitute appearances for them this term. The Scot sat out a significant portion of last season as she struggled with her mental health.

Arsenal’s manager, Joe Montemurro, explained in pre-season why he doesn’t like having players too far down the pecking order. “Continuity is important,” he said. “Rotation is a bit of a false thing because it doesn’t work. You’re asking a player who’s not always involved to come in for that game knowing that they’re going to be out for the next game. I don’t want to have that; I want everyone to feel that they’ve got an opportunity, that they’re close, that they are one bad game away from being in there, one training session away from from being in there. And that keeps the stimulus high, that keeps the level high, that keeps the the attitude high.”

Mitchell’s chances of making Phil Neville’s Team GB squad for the Olympics are extremely slim and her club options are also narrow. There are only 12 teams in the fully professional WSL and the level of professionalism between them varies dramatically.

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It may be easy for male players to uproot for a loan transfer but for female footballers it is much more complicated. Salaries are significantly lower; clubs provide different levels of accommodation assistance; many players still study or work on the side. Joining Spurs means Mitchell does not have to move and gets playing time. For Arsenal it also means strengthening a team who aren’t a threat but can trouble a title rival.

Until the women’s game can provide long-term financial stability for players we cannot begrudge them moving to club rivals, nor teams for putting a player’s welfare and conveniences above the frustrations of fans. It will change as the game continues to grow, but for now we are stuck in a weird world where we encourage the rivalries but have a responsibility to the players to contextualise the moves when needed.

Talking points

• Former Arsenal manager Laura Harvey has been recruited by US Soccer as head coach of its Under-20 women’s national team. Harvey has spent seven years coaching in the NWSL, first with Seattle Reign, then Utah Royals.

• Celtic have announced their women’s team will become professional with immediate effect. A number of their squad have been signed to professional contracts and recruits for the 2020 season will join on professional terms. A head coach is expected to be announced soon, a full-time assistant coach is to be employed and new sponsors are backing the move.

• FA Cup holdersManchester City have been drawn against Manchester United in the fourth round. The derby is one of two all-WSL ties, with Arsenal playing last year’s runners-up, West Ham. Lewes will face the the lowest-ranked team left in the tournament, either Billericay Town or Actonians, whose third-round match was postponed. Full draw here.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Manchester City and Manchester United have been drawn to play one another in the FA Cup. Photograph: Nigel French/PA

• Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema has been named WSL player of the month for December, with Joe Montemurro manager of the month. Sheffield United’s Katie Wilkinson was named Championship player of the month.

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