Interview

‘We needed a big win’

Miedema

Vivianne Miedema was at her very best in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The Netherlands international scored four as we won 5-2 in the first leg of our last-16 tie against Slavia Prague, but above all else, she was delighted to get back to winning ways following our first defeat of the season last Sunday. 

We spoke to Miedema after her standout display - and this is what she said:

on whether that performance was exactly what we needed…

Yeah, I think we needed a big win, but we’re still disappointed about the two late goals that we conceded. I think we played some really good football in stages, and to be honest, a 5-2 first leg lead in the Champions League is quite decent. 

on whether the team were desperate to get back out there after Sunday’s loss…

It’s always good when you can instantly go again after losing a game. We were all so happy we could play tonight, and obviously now we have a really good result for the return leg at home. We know that we need to be better though. 

on how much she’s missed playing in the Champions League…

These nights are special. You always get a special feeling playing in the Champions League with the floodlights on. Now we want to stay in for as long as we can and make sure we’re here again next season.

on whether she believes that we can go all the way after her recent success (Euros, WSL)…

You need to be a bit lucky with who you draw and who you play, but anything can happen in the Champions League, even if you play the big guns. We know that we need to up our game, but we have a very, very good team and we can go really far. 

on what it is about Arsenal that’s allowed her to flourish…

We play the type of football that I want to play, and that helps me to be an important part of the team. I’m a number nine so I need to score goals. That’s what I missed at Bayern Munich and it’s what I’ve got here now. That was one of the biggest reasons why I moved here, and it’s why I love playing here.

on what it’s like playing with players who trust her runs…

There’s a fair few players in the team that I’ve played a lot of games with now. I’ve been playing with Jill and DvD in the national team for like five or six years now, and I’ve actually played with Jill since we were young. It’s my third season and I feel like they’ve really got to know me, and I’ve really got to know them. I’ve played with Lisa, Viki and Leonie at Bayern, so it’s really nice to have that instant connection. It really helps that you don’t need to work on that again. 

on getting a well-earned rest…

Me and Joe spoke at half-time and we were saying that obviously we’ve got a game this weekend and Manchester City coming up after, so it’s good for me to get a bit of a rest. Now I can focus on preparing for Sunday.

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