In mid-February, we invited requests from our subscribers for articles you might like to read on The Athletic as part of our latest Inspired By You series.
Lewis F asked for a piece on women’s football, so Art de Roché spoke to former Arsenal midfielder and WSL record appearance holder Jordan Nobbs…
Just seven of the 28 players who featured in the first-ever Women’s Super League match, played between Arsenal and Chelsea in April 2011, are still active.
The venue, Imperial Fields in Mitcham, south-west London, is home to non-League Tooting & Mitcham FC and has a capacity of 3,500. It is not the level of stadium that most WSL clubs play at now, but it holds a place in the mind of the player who stands alone as the WSL’s top appearance maker: Jordan Nobbs.
“I didn’t start that game and I found it tough because I had come from Sunderland where I played all the time,” she tells The Athletic. “But things happen for a reason. They give you that kick to push yourself. That’s the day I realised I was at a big club. I needed to work hard to get in that squad.”
That work culminated in an on-pitch presentation at Villa Park in October, as the England midfielder was gifted a shirt with the number 193 on the back. It represented the WSL appearances she had made to…
