The WSL season kicks off tonight and the Guardian’s women’s football writer Suzanne Wrack is here now answering your questions – from what to expect from London City Lionesses after their signing spree to whether Manchester City can go back to back.Ask a question: log in or sign up here.Weekender73 asks: Daughter’s favourite player: Ellie Carpenter. Mine: Mary Fowler. Who is right?Suzanne: Both. Who am I to say who an individual’s favourite player should be? It’s personal, and mine would probably be different - no I’m not saying who, probably because I’m not totally sure! They’re both top players, Ellie Carpenter has looked rampant in Chelsea’s two games against Real Sociedad in the last two weeks and both looked excellent last season when they featured. Hopefully Mary Fowler has an injury-free season back at her best following her recovery from her ACL injury.Suzanne: This is what I think is really exciting this season. Each year, while you haven’t necessarily been able to predict exactly which of Arsenal, City or Chelsea will win the title, you could predict that the only points they would drop would be against each other, at least 99% of the time. This season, I think the likelihood of those teams dropping points to some of those in the chasing pack on a more frequent basis is much higher.We saw Brighton, Tottenham, London City Lionesses, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester United all take points off the top three across the course of last season and I think that trend will continue. How the top three handle that and how those challenging for the ‘best of the rest’ mantle capitalise is going to be super interesting. Continue reading...
Mikel Arteta is impressed by Chelsea’s summer signings (Photo: YouTube) Mikel Arteta has praised Xabi Alonso and Chelsea for one ‘really smart’ signing ahead of the huge Premier League clash against Arsenal. After both won their opening two games of the campaign, the London rivals meet at the Emirates on Sunday, in an early meeting of two title favourites. A whopping 11 players signed for Chelsea in Alonso’s first summer in charge, headlined by the record £117million transfer of Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa. But it is their other arrival from Villa Park, Emiliano Martinez, that has received plenty of praise from fans and pundits, with the Argentina star performing well on his debut against last Brighton last weekend. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Replacing Robert Sanchez with the World Cup-winning goalkeeper has surely boosted Chelsea’s title credentials and fixed what has often been cited as a problem position for the Blues. This Sunday will see Martinez return to the Emirates, having previously spent eight years at Arsenal, which culminated with winning the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2020 under Arteta. The 33-year-old’s switch to Stamford Bridge came as a shock to many, but Arteta says he was ‘not surprised’ by the move and believes his rivals have made an excellent signing. Emiliano Martinez made his debut for Chelsea last week (Photo: Getty) ‘Obviously, I know Emi really well,’ the Gunners boss said in his pre-match press conference on Friday. ‘We had him here. He is a top goalkeeper. ‘It is clear what he is going to bring to the team and I think it’s a really smart decision.’ Arteta managed Martínez during his first season at Arsenal (Photo: Getty) The aforementioned Rogers has made an impressive start to life in west London but he could well have been playing in the north of the capital instead, as Arsenal were the frontrunners for his signature before Chelsea swooped in. After also being linked with Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez, the Gunners missed out on signing a marquee forward this summer but Arteta is not concerned. ‘I don’t know [if it is a missed opportunity], these are just opinions,’ he added. ‘The window is closed, and I prefer to look at all the incredible things that we have in the squad and not to spend any more time on the things that are not part of us right now. So, that’s it, and that’s my main responsibility.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
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