Lotte Wubben-Moy: ‘Adversity made us feel like we could do anything’

I n Lotte Wubben-Moy’s words, this season has been “emotionally draining”. In many respects, Wednesday summed up the toll the campaign has taken. Wubben-Moy scored Arsenal’s fourth as they cantered to a 4-0 half-time lead at Everton. Then, the Gunners had another player taken off on a stretcher with an oxygen mask clutched to her face, Lia Wälti’s season ended after Aggie Beever-Jones’s late challenge.

Beever-Jones received a few shoves and angry words were said by the remaining Arsenal players, who have already seen Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema, Laura Wienroither and Leah Williamson sidelined with ACL injuries, the captain, Kim Little, ruled out for the last chunk of the campaign with a knee injury and Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord miss long stretches through injury.

Emotions were running high. What was said in that team huddle as Wälti was treated? “It’s less about what’s said and more about what we’re feeling,” says Wubben-Moy. “The energy that we have within that circle, within that squad, is strong. Obviously the tempo dropped off when she got injured and there were a lot of changes. So, as expected, there was a big break in play. But I think even to continue playing after something like that and to continue to play with pride for the team and play in a way that does a team justice is huge.”

Arsenal won 4-1 but faces looked despondent at full-time, and Wubben-Moy had the added blow of her cyclist partner, Tao Geoghegan Hart, having crashed out of the Giro d’Italia and requiring surgery on a fractured hip.

All this, just over two weeks after Arsenal had come agonisingly close to a first Champions League final since 2007, with Wubben-Moy starring but then being dispossessed by Jule Brand, who squared for Pauline