Arsenal Women are already inspiring the next generation of female footballers

Just Arsenal News

·16 gennaio 2025

Arsenal Women are already inspiring the next generation of female footballers

Watching clips of legends like Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, and even Mesut Özil must have inspired many young Gooners to dream of making it in professional football. Boys looked at these legends and told themselves, “When I grow up, I want to be like them.”

Interestingly, girls who want to make it in football have also looked up to these male footballers. For instance, Arsenal Women’s Swedish international Rosa Kafaji, who signed for Arsenal last summer, looks up to Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho.

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“Ronaldinho has been an inspiration since I was younger, and that’s how I try to play,” Rosa says. “I want to be creative, have fun on the pitch, try to score, and create chances.”

Is it okay for girls to look up to male footballers, or is it about time they look up to female players like Alessia Russo, Daphne van Domselaar, and Caitlin Foord and say, “I want to be like her”?

Well, Arsenal’s Australian international, Caitlin Foord, has been speaking about what needs to happen for women in football to emerge as role models for girls.

She boldly claimed, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

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From those words, one can’t help but hope that the women’s game continues to be embraced and that broadcasters see the value in showcasing it.

I recently watched a clip of a girl dubbed “mini Aitana.” I believe she’s called that because of her quality, despite her young age, and her resemblance to Aitana Bonmatí on the pitch.

I’d imagine she’ll look up to Aitana Bonmatí winning 2 Ballon d’Ors back to back and tell herself, “I want to be like Aitana.”

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In the future, we want to hear girls speak about how some of our Gunners, like Leah Williamson, Beth Mead, Alessia Russo, Kim Little, and Emily Fox, inspired them to be the players they are.

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With the growth in the women’s game in recent years, and particularly the fan following and bums on seats at Emirates that Arsenal Women have amassed, it’s highly likely that our Gunners are already inspiring the next generation of female footballers, don’t you think?

Michelle M

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