Little by little, big feat for Arsenal great Kim

“Leader, Legend, Little” – read the tifo that fans had hung over the Emirates stands as the Arsenal captain made her 400th appearance for the club in a Women’s Super League (WSL) match against Tottenham last month.

It was validation for Kim Little’s 18-year journey with the London club that culminated in her lifting the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) title last season in one of the most successful years for the Arsenal women’s team.

“My journey started in that first spell in 2008, with a much smaller fan base than we do now,” Little said during a virtual media interaction from London.

“And my career has spanned this incredible growth of the women’s game, but also here at Arsenal, where we are playing most of our games at the Emirates now. The average attendance is increasing every year and so are those season ticket holders. That is really special.”

While Arsenal handed Manchester City the WSL title on Wednesday with a draw against Brighton and were unable to hold on to their first-leg lead in the UWCL semifinal against Lyon last week, the Gunners are sure to finish in the top four of WSL along with a run at European title defence that lasted till their second successive UWCL last-four stint.

“Every time we play, we are creating these incredible moments with our supporters, and you can feel that. And it’s so special to get those occasions almost every other week now,” added the 35-year-old talisman.

Like she has been throughout her journey with Arsenal, Little was imperious in last season’s UWCL final as well, holding her own against a midfield comprising of Ballon d’Or winners Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí, and become just the second Scotland international to have won the UWCL.

Hence, there could be no better player to opine on the way forward for women’s football in a country like India that is still in a nascent stage of its growth.

“The one thing will be to not mimic but connect with the broader women’s game across the globe. As a nation that is maybe not that much developed in the women’s game, I think it’s useful to connect with countries like the UK, France, Germany and make connections as well networks,” said Little.

“To receive advice or understand the kind of sports infrastructure that is needed is a very good point to start. Collaboration in any form with leagues such as the WSL where the game has grown will be key in my opinion.”

Having recently signed a one-year contract extension with the club, Arsenal’s leading scorer in the UWCL with 38 goals and second on the all-time list with 175 goals is on the road to beating Ciara Grant and Emma Byrne as the player with most appearances for the club.

“It’s not something I particularly think about in terms of accumulation of games. I just want to continue to do my kind of job on a day to place, day-to-day basis,” said the trailblazing midfielder as she takes Arsenal, and women’s football in general, to new heights with her.

(Fans can watch WSL exclusively on FanCode)