International Women’s Day: West Ham goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold talks female role models, Sam Kerr and Chelsea test | Football News

For West Ham goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, female sporting heroes were hard to come by when she was younger.

“When I was growing up, I didn’t have anything like that,” Arnold tells Sky Sports on International Women’s Day.

Born into a rugby league family back in Australia, it was NRL on the TV every week for Arnold and she “definitely didn’t watch any women’s football”.

“It really wasn’t that publicised back then, to be honest,” says the Australia international.

International Women’s Day is a very important day, not just for women in sport or football but in the world in general, and I don’t think we get recognised enough for that. As a women’s footballer growing up, I didn’t really have many women icons to look up to. I think it is really important for us as footballers to really pave the way for the next generation of footballers coming through

It was not until she was 16 that Arnold really took notice of the Matildas – Australia’s women’s football team – and had those role models in her life.

The lack of female representation in sport that Arnold grew up with is quickly changing, though, and she is a part of that.

Arnold still cannot believe it when young fans ask for her autograph after a game, but she is all too aware of the role she and the rest of the Women’s Super League play in paving the way for the next generation.

“It is sort of surreal to me,” says Arnold. “It means a lot, you don’t really go through everyday life thinking that you are that kind of icon to younger girls – and boys lately. It’s a very important thing and something we should take notice of to inspire that younger generation coming through.”

Facetime with Kerr ahead of Chelsea visit

The WSL has given this next generation of fans an abundance of female sporting heroes to look up to, and few come much bigger than Arnold’s Australia team-mate and Chelsea striker Sam Kerr.

Arnold and Kerr will have to put their friendship to one side on Thursday night, when champions Chelsea travel to West Ham, live on Sky Sports.

Live WSL

Thursday 10th March 7:30pm

The two of them shared a FaceTime call on Monday night. “We really don’t talk about football too much”, Arnold responds, when I ask if there was any banter about the game on the call. She does, though, expect there to be a few jokes after the final whistle.

Her connections with international team-mates have been key for Arnold since she came to England, as there are a whole host of Australians who also ply their trade in the WSL, especially in London.

“It helps a lot, obviously we are all from Australia but the group that has come over, we have honestly grown up together since we were 15 or 16,” she tells Sky Sports.

“So we are actually really close. And to have that, those girls that are external from West Ham, just to get away from it a little bit, it’s really important. I think it has helped every single one of us a lot.”

World-class Kerr and Chelsea threats

Arnold knows she faces a tough test coming up against Kerr, who she describes as a “world-class striker”, but is wary not to become too distracted by Australia’s record international scorer and forget about the other threats Chelsea pose.

“She’s obviously got that pace up front but the runs that she makes in behind – they’re really smart and she’s a really smart footballer and knows where to be at the right time,” adds Arnold.

“She does pose that threat up front and you need to keep her under control and obviously the rest of their front line as well.”

Chelsea are vying for back-to-back titles, but face a stern test from Arsenal, who boast an eight-point lead at the top of the table. The champions do, though, have three games in hand.

Any dropped points could be key in the title race, adding another level of importance to Thursday’s London derby with West Ham.

“I think we are getting to the end of the season and it is an important time for all teams, but especially Chelsea who are fighting at the top of the league,” Arnold says.

“We try to approach the game as we would any other, but at the same time I think we need to keep in mind the threat that they pose up front with the strikers and the talent that they have.”

West Ham targets for the season

West Ham are eighth in the WSL table, but a win over Chelsea on Thursday could move them level on points with fifth-placed Manchester City, who are next in action at Tottenham on Sunday.

Arnold has been pleased by the improvement she has seen by her side after some disappointing dropped points earlier in the season and is optimistic for the remainder of the campaign.

“I think the season has gone quite well,” Arnold says. “We started out the season dropping a few too many points in the last minutes of a couple of games, so I think progressing from that, we’ve done quite well.

“I think we are a couple of points away now from getting our best total points in a season. We do have quite a hard run of games coming up so it is important for us to stay level at the moment and like I said take it one game at a time and go from there.”

Watch West Ham vs Chelsea in the Women’s Super League on Thursday from 7.30pm, live on Sky Sports Football; kick-off at 7.45pm.