Natalia Arroyo's Pre-Match Press Conference:

Prior to Aston Villa’s Quarter Final clash against Manchester City in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, Natalia Arroyo spoke about the FA Cup being a breath of fresh air, the change in management making Aston Villa a more unpredictable side for Gareth Taylor’s side to face, the boost it would give to her side if they make it to the semi-final, and her personal reflections on Aston Villa’s recent performances this season. 

Natalia Arroyo’s reflections on Aston Villa’s recent performances- a variety of strong performances and disappointing results …

Arroyo reveals that Aston Villa are not getting the results that they want, and they are disappointed as a side. They need to focus on their upcoming performances and accept that they need to get points. They were disappointed as a side with their performance against Everton on Sunday. Ahead of their upcoming fixtures, they need to analyse differently as they were unable to score on their first chance, so they need to be better. The game against Everton was asking them to dominate, counterattack on the ball, and as a side they were not ready enough to do so. She stated that her side can concede first, like any other team can, but as a side they will try to avoid it, but it is football and it can happen. 

Arroyo reveals that she is trying to help the team, her side is improving, but what they are doing currently is not enough. They need to stay together as a team. They only need one good performance with one good result to change their confidence, so they will keep trying.

Natalia Arroyo on the boost it would give to her side if they were to win their fixture against Manchester City and progress into the semi finals, and potentially be able to play their first ever fixture at Wembley Stadium in May.

Arroyo admitted that she believed her side could manage playing in both the WSL and in the FA Cup. Arroyo’s priority is still on the league, ensuring her team stay in the WSL, win games and win points. Her side will focus on the league, but they want to dream as big as possible. They want to play with this energy, they want to be focused and play a strong performance against City, but this time in the FA Cup, not the league. The dream is to be in a semi-final and get to play at Wembley, but they need to make improvements in their tie against City to make these dreams possible. 

Natalia Arroyo’s reflections on Aston Villa’s previous fixtures against Manchester City, which have always been a competitive, good game to watch.

Arroyo expresses the difficulty in facing good teams within the league who manage possession really well. The biggest question for her side in their upcoming game will be how they organise themselves out of possession. Her side need to be solid in their out of possession structure, as Manchester City will push them as far backwards into their own box as possible, which makes it difficult for her side to get out and create chances, so they need to make sure their organisational structure when out of possession is correct. When they are in possession of the ball, Arroyo needs her side to play as fast as possible, as they are aware they will have limited chances against a side like Manchester City who manages possession really well. When they have possession of the ball, they will aim to make Manchester City suffer a bit, to try and come out on top in this quarter-final tie. The key thing for Arroyo is to find a balance between their organisational structure when they are out of possession, and ensuring that when they are in possession they are moving forwards quickly and causing Manchester City some suffering. 

Natalia Arroyo’s reflections on the unpredictability of her side ahead of their tie against Manchester City…

With Arroyo being the third head coach to face Manchester City it is arguable that Gareth Taylor’s side will face some unpredictability about the Aston Villa side they will be facing on Sunday. Arroyo agreed that changes in coaches and players will make her side a little bit unpredictable. With Manchester City having a strong identity, it makes the game all about them. However, Natalia Arroyo wants to show what her team is capable of, and find better solutions for them as a team. 

Natalia Arroyo on changes being made in training, ahead of their game against Manchester City, after their recent 2-0 loss to Everton last week…

Arroyo stated that they had made changes in training over the past week in preparation for their quarter-final clash against Manchester City. However as a coach, she is aware that what they practise in training will not always come out onto the pitch during a game. When they are doing finishing drills, they are not always going to work like that in games. 

In the past week her side have focused on being better, solving the solutions to their struggles against Everton, like having possession of the ball, the centre backs possession of the ball, and finding better positions for chances on goal. Her side have used video analysis and training to find better options, and she hopes her side will feel confident enough to try again in these upcoming fixtures. She believes her side will eventually get the goals in matches that they are working towards in training.

Natalia Arroyo on the breath of fresh air the FA Cup gives her side, after their recent performances and struggles in the WSL…

Arroro’s side have not had the greatest performances so far this season in the Women’s Super League. However her side will try to use this game, just like any other game, as a way to create a good performance and come out on top. Her side will play their best game possible and she feels that they can compete against one of the best teams in the league to stay in the competition. Arroyo hopes that her side will come back from Manchester feeling stronger as a team, ahead of their big upcoming clash against Crystal Palace (on March 16th). Her side will try to keep the dream of playing at Wembley possible.