What about not playing football regularly - is that almost like having something so fundamental to you taken away?

It’s actually so hard. It’s weird. I feel like I’m on my worst holiday ever. It’s just a bit unreal. For me because of my ankle I knew I wouldn’t be playing for two or three months anyway so my mind was already prepared for that but to not be able to go to the training ground every day and see all the girls, the manager and just to hang around with them, I really miss them at the moment. We all get sick of each other sometimes but I miss them all now.

It adds to the rollercoaster of being a football player to say the least. You go through so many highs and so many lows. Away from Covid-19…It’s now five years since you joined Arsenal, how would you describe those five years?

I think I learnt the most about myself in my first three years at Arsenal. It’s always a rollercoaster because I’ve played with so many players who I looked up to like Kelly Smith, Farah Williams, Alex Scott, Kasey Stoney - all these people who are big in the women’s game. They taught me so much. Now with the new manager, it’s an interesting dynamic for me because he wants everyone to feel free and do whatever on the pitch so long as you stick to his rules. He only has seven rules that are easy to hold on to so like never before, you feel so free. That’s amazing but hard at the same time because we grow up being taught and disciplined to play a certain way and to follow tactics. Usually we’re so particular as well when looking at mistakes but this manager says to us “you all see the game, you all know how to play, so go for it!”. That is something I have to learn and adapt to but it’s actually one of the best things I’ve experienced in my career so far. It’s kind of like, let my brain do the work and trust my feet to do it.

Would you say getting that sense of freedom has changed your style of play?

I actually think that I am one of those players who is better with freedom. I’m a number 10, I think this manager wanted to help me even more by adjusting my position. For example, he put me on the left wing but lets me know that he put me there with the freedom to move around. I’m not locked to that position during the game. If I find myself as a defender or a striker at one point in the game, so long as I’m doing my job, that is ok. At first, I struggled with that freedom as I felt like I would be getting in the way of others on the pitch but over time you adjust and I love it.

What about the club in that time? It’s always been a club that has lead the way in Women’s Football but how have things changed to a new level in the last five years?

Before I joined, the club was already very professional but that has continued more and more. You train on the same training ground as the men and the youth teams. You can’t complain about the facilities or the pitches - they are absolutely brilliant. You feel like you’re in such a luxurious environment and in the last couple of years they’ve also built a new gym. It was meant for the mens but we all use it and the facilities they have for the women, I really don’t think any other club has. I feel very lucky that I get to be myself at Arsenal and get to train with these top people at great facilities. I couldn’t wish for anything more.

When we look at your mentality and mindset – you at the club between the ages of 23 and 28 – a lot can happen in that time - How would you say you have changed as a person in that time?

I think I have gone from a rebel to a leader. As a 23 year old, new kid to the team, you can come in by doing whatever you want. I really wanted to show who I was and wasn’t really thinking about how good we can be as a team. I think that through the years, I’ve developed and changed in that time to realise it’s not just all about me and that the whole team can benefit when we’re playing together. I can’t do it without them. I’ve really learnt to appreciate those people around me and how I can make them better and how they can make me better. I think I’ve just become much more of a team player and I’m just trying to teach the young kids how they should do it. I like to take them under my wing and hope they feel good about themselves and part of the family.