Little striving for more ‘special’ cup final moments with Arsenal targeting first trophy win under Eidevall
KIM LITTLE is chasing more trophy-winning moments with Arsenal as they bid to end their mini silverware dry spell.
They face Chelsea later in this year’s Continental Cup final – the first cup contest decider between the sides since 2021.
GettyVictory against Chelsea would see Kim Little and Arsenal win the Conti Cup for the sixth time[/caption]
GettyThe Gunners hope to bounce back from their 2-0 loss to Chelsea in the WSL last time out[/caption]
GettyThe club’s last Conti Cup win was back in March 2018 when they beat Manchester City 1-0[/caption]
The league cup holds a special place in Little’s heart.
The Gunners skipper made her 150th appearance in the 2018 final and defeat of Manchester City.
A game in which the midfield maestro, 32, made her return from a lengthy spell out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The Arsenal captain said: “I’ve played in a number of finals and have lots of great memories of scoring and having those really special moments.
“A lot of the games were very close.
“That one (in 2018) was 1-0 and I think we beat Lincoln 2-0 in one (back in 2013)
“I have really special moments from this competition.
“That comes with playing with my teammates and being able to share those with them as well.
“We’ve got another great opportunity to do that. I’m really looking forward to it
“We’ll do all we can to create another moment that is special and we come up with another trophy (win).”
The final sees the Gunners take on Chelsea without Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema with the forwards working their back from ACL injuries.
Both aces played pivotal roles in Arsenal’s last league cup and WSL title wins with Miedema netting the winner in their Conti Cup triumph five years ago.
Little says the duo, likely to be watching from the stands, will be urging on their team-mates.
She added: “We’ve got a great group of girls here and obviously we’re missing Vivianne and Beth.
“But off the pitch they’ll be there to support us and to drive us forward.”
Arsenal have notched up the most the Conti Cup wins to date having won the contest five times.
Meanwhile Manchester City have triumphed in four finals.
The Gunners’ last silverware win came in 2019 with former gaffer Joe Montemurro guiding them to the club’s 15th league title and third WSL crown.
Since then, the team with the English game’s biggest domestic trophy haul have been eclipsed by Chelsea.
Under Emma Hayes the Blues have emerged as one of the alphas of the women’s game on these shores.
Their haul includes three of the last five FA Cups, two of the past four Conti Cups, and four of the last five WSL crowns dating back to 2018.
At Selhurst Park they face the tough task of attempting to halt the winning run of a side who knocked them out of this year’s FA Cup.
Of Chelsea’s will to win, boss Hayes, 46, said: “The team are hungry to always improve.
“If you can influence that, you have a chance of competing.
“There was a moment last week, I think we were winning 2-0, my team were on the far side and they were having a huddle.
“I could see all my leaders. I knew every one of them was in complete control of how we would manage that last part of the game.”
Today’s game will see the Blues in action without Fran Kirby and Pernille Harder with both sidelined by knee and hamstring injuries.
Hayes added: “Fran had had a prp (platelet-rich plasma) injection this week, we’re waiting for that to settle down.
Emma Hayes’ side are aiming to win the league cup for a third time following their defeat of Arsenal last SundayPA
“We’ll see how that pans out probably at the back end of next week.
“The last thing both of them want is to be in the position they’re in.
“I hope that we get one or both of them back relatively soon because they are important players to us.”
Arsenal vs Chelsea in the Continental League Cup final can be watched live on BBC1 at 3:00 pm.
