‘When you give us a stage, we can perform as female footballers’ 

It was a football match fit for a movie… until the final two minutes of extra-time.

Arsenal Women’s Champions League run had ended in heart-breaking fashion at the Emirates Stadium on May 1, 2023, when the heroics of the injury-stricken Gunners were not enough to defeat Wolfsburg, who scored to win in the 119th minute of the European semi-final.

Now, just over a year later and with the pain of defeat lessened, the loss has become something of a win in the hearts of both fans and players.

For Arsenal’s Katie McCabe, the determination of a team ‘with nothing left to give who still gave everything’, will forever hold a special place in her heart.

Speaking with Metro from St Albans, the Republic of Ireland captain recalls a conversation with teammate and Sweden international Stina Blackenstius.

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‘We were in the treatment room and the masseurs asked what the best game we played together was. Both of us felt it was Wolfsburg, which is weird because it was a loss,’ McCabe tells Metro.

‘But to have the support of 60,000 people behind us, cheering us on, helping us come back after extra time – it didn’t feel like a loss.

‘It was an incredible time for the club but also for women’s football in general. The game set a massive precedent through the Women’s Super League (WSL) in terms of attendances, and [the importance of] women’s teams playing big stadiums. 

‘When you give us a stage like that, we can perform as female footballers. And that’s a massive credit to our fans who have been there since the start, and still continue to come and cheer us on.’

It’s been a whirlwind season for McCabe. In July, Ireland opened their Women’s World Cup journey in Australia and New Zealand. Against Canada, the 28-year-old scored her country’s first ever Women’s World Cup goal – from a corner, no less.

Ahead of the tournament, McCabe curiously didn’t feel nervous about the pressure.

‘And that’s not because I’m empty inside’, she laughs. ‘It was more a feeling of excitement. I felt so proud to captain Ireland to a World Cup, I wanted to enjoy it and take in every moment, it was something I’d dreamed of since being a kid.’

During the World Cup, speculation had swirled online and across articles regarding Ireland manager Vera Pauw and alleged tensions between the Dutchwoman and her Girls in Green.

‘For me, what’s most important is what my family think and my teammates think’, McCabe replies when asked how she dealt with the distractions off the pitch.

She adds: ‘It is a cliché, but it’s about controlling the controllables. I can’t control what other people write or see, what they think I’m doing or not doing, or what they think my relationship is with a manager.

‘We [Ireland] were there to perform as a team, as coaching staff, collectively. We gave everything to come together and score our first ever World Cup goal. If it [issues off the pitch] had been as distracting as the outside noise was saying, I don’t think we’d have been celebrating like we did.’

Several national sides, such as England’s Lionesses, had been ravaged by injuries ahead of the World Cup. An ‘unsustainable’ schedule of club and country football led to Leah Williamson, one of 37 players to miss last summer’s tournament because of an ACL injury, to call for a ‘solution’.

Arsenal Women’s number of injuries last year meant the team was jokingly referred to as ‘Injury FC’ as they limped their way to the end of the season.

‘I never liked that sort of chat’, Katie muses on the ‘Injury FC’ nickname. ‘It’s people’s careers. They’re our team-mates and you can see how hard they work day to day. While they didn’t play with us, they were still part of the team and we had their strength through their experience and words of wisdom. We all rallied around each other, and that support was infectious and incredible.’

McCabe works hard to avoid burnout as a player and – she touches the wooden table at this point of the interview – has avoided major injury in recent years.

But she’s always been used to juggling amid her football career. As a young player in Ireland, she’d be on her feet all day at her Nando’s day job, before dashing to practice in the evenings. ‘The sacrifice was worth it’, she nods. Today, McCabe still rewards herself with a cheeky Nando’s after games (spice level: hot, by the way)

The 28-year-old works hard to switch off when she’s not in training or on the pitch. She’s just finished watching Baby Reindeer on Netflix when she speaks to Metro.

‘Football is a short career’, McCabe adds. ‘I keep hold of the positives, the people you meet, the friends you make, the countries you find yourselves in, the games you play. There’s no real doom and gloom for me. But when I’m switching off, I do relax and try to maybe stay away from football.

‘But the moment you’re back in training, you crave it again. When you’re playing at such a high level of football, you have to be somewhat obsessed with what you do.’

There’s another way Katie adds to that football obsession, and that’s through the small band she’s sported on her wrist for nearly two years. This interview has been organised by WHOOP, a watch company which allows people – professional athletes and otherwise – to monitor their health through a digital watch.

‘I’m always trying to see how I can perform better’, McCabe explains. ‘I’ve been a WHOOP ambassador for a few years now. It’s something that helps me organise [my life] in terms of the three metrics they have; sleep, recovery and strain. I’m always trying to maximise my mental and physical capabilities every day in training.

‘It gives me the edge in finding those small margins to perform my best consistently.’

McCabe spoke to Metro ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Australia, for a friendly fixture against A League Allstars Women on May 24. While the international games are always exciting, she’s always eager to return to that very special feeling which comes with playing at home.

‘Hearing North London Forever at the Emirates never gets old’, McCabe adds.

‘We all still get goosebumps. When we’re having a wee huddle and Kim [Little] is saying a few words as captain, we can hear it playing over the stadium and hear the fans singing. Those moments give us the energy to give it our all and perform as best we can.’

McCabe also points to the intimacy created at Meadow Park, Arsenal Women’s ‘other’ home in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The stands may be smaller, the scoreboard a little temperamental and the grandeur a lot less – but the stadium allows players a more personal experience with their 12th man, or woman if you will.

‘The fans are brilliant’, McCabe says.

‘They’re very creative with their chants and as players we love that. It makes you feel connected to them. My chant [We’ve Got McCabe…] was the favourite among the team for a while. But then Cloé Lacasse arrived and hers [inspired by ABBA’s Voulez-Vous] has become the new team favourite. We’re obviously always focused on the game. But we like to have a bit of fun as well and listen out for the chants, especially when we play at Borehamwood where the noise carries more.

‘I just so feel privileged to be in the position I’m in, playing for a club like Arsenal and representing my country in Ireland. I don’t take that for granted at all, especially when you see the injuries that can happen.’

Katie McCabe spoke to Metro through her work as a WHOOP ambassador. Click here to find out more.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Kirsten.Robertson@metro.co.uk 

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