Suzanne Wrack

Arsenal defender on embracing her England chance, maintaining self-belief and sharing training tips with her cyclist partner, Tao Geoghegan Hart Lotte Wubben-Moy pauses, then says: “I’d be lying if I said there weren’t doubts.” The Arsenal and England defender has just been asked whether, during her stop-start journey, she had questioned herself or her chances of getting to show what she can do. Wubben-Moy has had to bide her time with club and country. Having made her debut for England in February 2021, she has picked up only 16 caps despite being almost ever-present in the squad. Even when left out, her lack of game time at Arsenal an obvious issue, she has often found herself called back in because of injuries to others and, regardless of minutes played, her value to the squad and environment is often talked about.

Petr Vlachovsky’s non-contact sexual abuse has had long-term effects and could finally be the catalyst for safeguarding policy change for women and girls in the sport Kristyna Janku answered the phone to a police officer, not sure what she was going to hear. She had heard the rumours, the gossip, and was not sure what was true and what was not. The defender’s former coach Petr Vlachovsky, who coached women and girls at FC Slovacko for almost 15 years and was once voted the best women’s football coach in the Czech Republic, had been arrested and she was about to find out why.

Thirty five-year-old reflects on his players overcoming adversity to climb towards new heights in the WSL and his evolution as a coach Martin Ho is ready to chat, after being playfully reprimanded by the waiter in a south London cafe for leaving a lone tomato on his plate. “It’s got more vitamin C in it than orange juice,” the waiter quips as he clears the table. It has been quite the season for the 35-year-old Tottenham head coach, who took charge in July of a side that looked rudderless and despondent as it limped to an 11th‑place finish in the Women’s Super League, one season on from finishing sixth and reaching an FA Cup final.

Arsenal meet Brighton with their sights set on reaching a second semi-final while Tottenham could be facing Chelsea at just the right time Riding high after their Champions League quarter-final win over Chelsea, Arsenal are ready to push on in the FA Cup. The WSL title may be almost certainly out of sight following Manchester City’s impressive victory over Manchester United, but the chance to go for a European and domestic cup double is very much there. Brighton stand in the way of securing a second cup semi-final within six days. Last weekend Dario Vidosic’s side earned a first WSL win since their 23 January defeat of Everton, securing a 1-0 win over bottom-placed Leicester. The Seagulls sit sixth in the WSL, eight points behind Tottenham and only ahead of London City Lionesses on goal difference. They are seven points off of last season’s total with four games remaining. However, those four games are against Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Spurs and inconsistency has blighted their campaign. The hope will be that they face a tired Arsenal after their Champions League exploits, with the 1-0 second-leg defeat to Chelsea a frantic and exhausting match. That is perhaps an ambitious ask given the depth at Arsenal’s disposal and the form they are in, Wednesday night’s inconsequential defeat being their first loss since 21 January.

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