ACL archives and season expectations with Arsenal defender Wienroither | OneFootball

ACL – the dreaded three letters that unfortunately became a phrase used way too often last season for Arsenal fans.

Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema, Leah Williamson and Laura Wienroither were the unfortunate players to suffer that type of injury last season.

With the 2023/2024 Barclays Women’s Super League season opener against Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium now on the horizon, the latter of the ACL bunch, Wienroither spoke to the WSL Press Pack about her recovery and expectations for the new campaign.

After recently returning to the grass for light training, the Austrian international left-back admitted that she is feeling really positive.

“To be fair, I’m actually feeling really good,” Wienroither said. “I don’t know if I should be like this [laughs], but I’m doing well.

“I feel like Leah (Williamson) helps me a lot. We’re going through the same thing at the exact same time. We’re supporting each other, just trying to get through the journey. When we have work to do, we can get it done and if there is time to just joke around, we’ll joke around.”

Wienroither went on to say that she remained with the club over the summer to continue her rehabilitation rather than spend time at home in Austria. It was a decision which has had its benefits for the player.

She said “I think it’s just nice to still be in the team environment. We have the same rhythm as the team does and we also saw Viv (Miedema) and Beth (Mead) going through it. I think it helps to see how they dealt with different situations and their experiences with different things. It’s always nice when you can talk with someone about things and they actually know how it feels. I think we have each other’s back and that’s a good thing throughout this rehab.”

As the opening day of the Barclays Women’s Super League season looms closer, Wienroither was full of praise for her teammates and she believes that they’re going to have another very special season.

“I think we have such a talented group of players on the pitch,” the defender said. “I’ve never seen such a professional training environment and quality of training. I think there are not a lot of clubs who actually have this level of game. Also for the future, I feel like we have a really good group and that makes us special as well.

“It’s just nice to have people around who you actually care about. It’s not like going on a pitch or playing for a teammate; it’s playing for people who are close to you, who actually mean a lot to you. I think that’s probably our biggest strength.

“Obviously, you want to qualify for the Champions League, but I think we’re just trying to get a positive out of the situation. We know we can 100% focus on the league and both of the cups, I think it can be for our advantage.”

After qualifying for Round 1 of this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League, Arsenal were knocked out on penalties by Paris FC after an enthralling 3-3 draw. Despite the initial disappointment of not competing in Europe this season, the team will use that as fire power to kick on domestically.

“As Arsenal, we always want to be in the Champions League,” Wienroither said. “I think with the quality we have, we should definitely be there, but now it is what it is and we can’t change things. That’s what we also showed last season as well.

“We’re always trying to concentrate on the positive and take things as they are, because you can’t really control things in football.  There are still three trophies to play for.”

Arsenal kick-off the new Barclays Women’s Super League campaign at home to Liverpool on Sunday.