Arsenal Women star Lia Wälti has hailed coach Joe Montemurro, saying everyone at the club believes in his methods ‘blindly’.
Former Australia international Montemurro arrived at Arsenal from Melbourne City, where he had been the assistant coach to the men’s team, in 2017 to replace former coach Pedro Martínez Losa after an underwhelming start to the season.
The coach, who some label as the Guardiola of women’s football, arrived with a big reputation and with Arsenal hoping to turn a corner after six years without a title.
His time at the club has been a successful one so far, with them winning the Women’s League Cup in 2018 and following that with the WSL title in 2018/19.
He too has seen the personal accolades piling up, having been named Manager of the Year that year and being among the candidates for the FIFA Best Women’s Manager of the Year.
He’s a man who has so far lived up to his reputation and one, according to Wälti, that Arsenal’s players are all behind.
“I have great respect for Joe,” she told La Media Inglesa.
“We all know that he is a great coach, but for me, the fact that he is a great person is more important.
“He is a person who empathises a lot with the players, always has a smile on his face and transmits the feeling of belonging to a great family. I love working with him.
“Everyone blindly believes in Joe’s methods, and we try to fit in perfectly with his game strategy.”
This season Arsenal find themselves right in the mix for the title again, currently sitting third in the table and four points behind leaders Manchester City.
The league is very much dominated by those three teams, with a whopping 17 points separating City at the top from Manchester United Woman in fourth.
In fact, there are 13 points between Arsenal and United in third and fourth, highlighting the dominance those three teams at the top hold. Wälti, though, sees that changing in future.
“I think the future of the league goes beyond Chelsea, City or us.
“There are many teams with great potential, and there are great players who want to come to our league.
“The better players come, the better the level will be.”
And what of her own future? Wälti has been with the Gunners since 2018 after arriving from German side Turbine Potsdam.
Her first year at the club was not a happy one as an LCL injury picked up in April 2019 saw him miss nine months of the season through injury.
However, the club elected to hand her a long-term deal in December that year and she says, for now, her focus is on repaying them with trophies.
“I am not a person who considers the future in the long term,” she added.
“I have a contract with Arsenal for the following years, and I am very happy here. I want to get titles with Arsenal and fight against the best teams in Europe.
“I also want to lead the Swiss team in the next Euro Cup and in the next World Cup. Very interesting tournaments and games are coming, and I want to be part of them.”
