Reading may ply their trade in the second tier of The FA Women’s Super League – but Arsenal defender Jemma Rose is wary of their threat in front of goal.
The Gunners host Reading in the Continental Tyres Cup on Thursday evening, seeking their fourth win from as many games in the competition.
However, Rose know they face a stiff test to keep the Royals’ potent strikeforce quiet.
Arsenal v Reading
FA WSL Continental Tyres Cup
Group One
7.45pm, Thursday 27 August
Boreham Wood FC
Losing England striker Fran Kirby to FA WSL 1 title hopefuls Chelsea shortly after the World Cup has not slowed them down.
Indeed, Chelsea had to outscore them last month in the Continental Tyres Cup, winning 3-2, while Reading have scored 15 unanswered goals in their last three outings in all competitions.
And Rose, who joined Arsenal from Bristol Academy last year, is ready to take on the challenge of stifling the likes of Emma Follis and Lauren Bruton.
She said: “We want to top our group in the Continental Tyres Cup and get through to the next stage to keep up our challenge as we always want to win trophies.
“But we know Reading are capable of scoring goals so we will need to be strong in defence.
“A club like Arsenal always wants to challenge for silverware, and while we’re not getting ahead of ourselves the eventual goal would definitely be a league and cup double.
“It’s been a big step for me in terms of training full time but I feel it’s really improving me as a player and it really helps playing alongside the likes of Alex Scott, Emma Byrne and Victoria Losada and all the other stars.
“They’re all pushing me on and I can’t see myself playing for any other club right now. It’s a brilliant team.”
Reading are also going well in the competition, after bouncing back from that defeat by Chelsea with wins against Aston Villa and London Bees.
Helen Ward is a regular feature in that side so adept at finding the net and she is eyeing up an upset and a place in the knockout stages.
Ward in action for Reading
“It won’t be a case of parking the bus and sitting back, but we have to respect the quality Arsenal have and we may not be as attacking as in some of our league games,” said Ward.
“We played pretty well against higher-league opposition in Chelsea even though we didn’t get a result, so we do think we can win and qualify as one of the two top teams.
“We’ll concentrate on what we can do, as we know how we can play and hopefully that will be enough for us to go and get a result there.
“Any game we play in is a chance to keep our momentum going, and keep a good run of form, so a good result against Arsenal will give us huge confidence going into our remaining league games too.”
