Lia Walti made her first appearance in Arsenal colours for 252 days on Sunday, starting our 5-0 win over London City Lionesses in the Continental League Cup.
The Switzerland international played 45 minutes before being replaced at the break - but she looked sharp in possession and strong in the tackle, offering the hosts no way through to our defence.
We spoke to Walti after the game and this is what she said:
on how it feels to be back on the pitch…
It feels amazing! I’ve been out for nine months and I’ve never had this experience before. It takes a lot out of you and mentally it was a really tough challenge for me. Physically the game was different to all of the training I’ve done too, but I enjoyed every minute of it and I can’t wait to be back out there again.
on what the journey’s been like…
My injury has been a difficult one. At the start we tried to get through it without surgery, which mentally put me in a good place because I was expecting to be back soon. But the moment we realised and decided that I needed surgery was mentally really tough for me. I had surgery back in April and during that time I’ve been able to do a little more each and every week, but you have to start from zero and at the start you can’t even bend your knee. Now I know what it’s like to fight back from injury, and I know that it takes hard work every single day. There are ups and down throughout the journey, but I’ve had incredible support from everyone; the staff, the players, the fans. Our aim was to get me back in the team for October, so we’ve achieved that goal!
on being able to speak to her teammates about her injury…
Unfortunately injuries happen in sport, but it’s always helpful when you can ask your teammates about it. We’ve got a few players who have suffered knee injuries and they’ve helped me a lot.
on being desperate to pick up more minutes…
I’m very hungry for more, but I’m also very realistic and I know that it’s going to take time to get back to the level I want to be at. We have a lot of games coming up and the coach has to play the best possible team, so I may not be the best option at the moment because I’m still not quite there, which is normal. I’m going to give myself time, but I’m also going to work so hard to make sure I’m back at that top level.
on the team’s performance…
It’s always difficult against these types of teams because they’re going into the game with the idea of defending hard and frustrating us. In the first half our movement wasn’t great, but in the second half we improved from that side of things, created a lot of chances and should have scored more really. In that second half there were some moments where we played exactly the kind of football Arsenal should play, so it was a great team effort.
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