You're The One

Chapter 2

September 2020 - north London, England

The last couple of weeks of preseason had gone well, which was good and boosted my spirits. I was getting along with most of the girls, although honestly I hadn't really spoken much to all of them, spending most of my time with the Dutch girls and the others I already knew. I had never been very outgoing, but I wanted to try to step out of my shell and make some more friends here. Talking with Kristie had been difficult, and as our schedules got even busier it only got harder. I missed her, and Houston quite a lot, as I had expected really, but it was a different feeling than I thought it would be. Quite difficult to explain in words.

Although I had been at Arsenal for nearly a month now, I hadn't had a chance to be interviewed by any media, with covid making in person conversations more difficult and harder to schedule. But as always, there was a pre match conference, and I was the player there with Joe. All of the questions were asked online, over a zoom call I assumed, which was a little strange as I felt like I was talking to no one for a large portion of it, but it felt as though there was at least a little bit of normalcy, and it was refreshing to speak to a few journalists as I always found it helped me mentally prepare for a match. Part of my pre-match routine, answering a few questions about the game ahead.

"So Aleid, it's great to see you here, I've always enjoyed your play and wanted to see you here in England. Now that you are here, how does it feel to sign with a club of the calibre Arsenal is, especially as this is your first time playing in the WSL?"

"It's an indescribable feeling really, I'm just so excited and happy to be here. I can't wait to make my debut, and hopefully help the team get some positive results this season."

"You are lucky enough to already know quite a few of your teammates, will your connection with the other Dutch players change anything about your game play, or the team's game place, and did it impact your decision in coming to Arsenal?"

"I've played with Jill and Viv since I was fifteen, younger even with Jill, and Daan has been there for me since the start of my national team journey so it's a really special feeling to be able to play with all of them here. Since we have played together before and still do regularly for the national team, I do know more about how they play which will hopefully allow me to quickly get used to the way we play, and benefit the team and our results."

A few more questions were asked, and after the short interview, I was sat in the changing room, waiting to go out for the warmup. It was my league debut and we were playing at home against Reading. I wanted to make sure I performed as well as I could, knowing it would be the first impression for a lot of the WSL fans. Music was booming trying to pump us with energy, with the whole team eager for a good start to the season, especially after last week's disappointment. We had played PSG in our Champion's League quarterfinal which was carried on from last season, postponed after the initial lockdown. I came on as a sub in the final twenty minutes, but I wasn't able to change the score, getting knocked out in a 2-1 loss. It was unfortunate, especially as we didn't have Champion's League matches this season and wouldn't be able to redeem ourselves. Not only that, but the rest of the team was taking it to heart, especially since they had worked so hard to win the league the season before, giving them the chance in Europe in the first place. We were hopeful to qualify for next year though, as the number of spots increased from two to three, giving us more of a chance, with the likes of City and Chelsea some of our biggest contenders.

I was settling in to the team quite well, or at least did in the two friendlies I played so far, and during the training sessions. I had provided the 'pass before an assist' multiple times, bringing the ball out of defence, usually down the wing, finding Jill or Viv, who always happened to be in the right place at the right time. Daan was helpful as well, and with her and Jill in the midfield, we were able to use our Dutch connection to the best of it's ability.