Chloe Kelly says that little has changed for her after her exploits for England over the summer – and her permanent transfer to Arsenal.
“Not much has changed for me as a person,” she told the BBC after the Gunners beat London City Lionesses 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium. “I’m still so hungry. I just want to win so many more trophies. That’s why I’ve got the Arsenal crest on my chest.”
Kelly scored Arsenal’s second goal in first-half additional time after they had fallen behind to a Kosovare Asllani penalty on 17 minutes.
“It’s difficult sometimes when you don’t really know your opposition too much,” she explained. “We tried to do our homework as much as we can on some pre-season clips of them.
“After great success in the summer, it makes you hungry to get back on the pitch in front of our home fans and bring a good performance but also a win.
“We’re really excited to get here at the Emirates and start the campaign off well. We did just that. London City Lionesses are a great side and we knew they were going to give us challenges today. The whole squad showed exactly what we’re capable of.”
Chloe Kelly: It’s so special to be an Arsenal player
Olivia Smith had drawn the Gunners level with a superb strike from range.
In the second half, Stina Blackstenius and Frida Maanum added to the tally as Arsenal’s strength in depth and experience as a squad began to make itself more evident against the newly-promoted side.
And Kelly added that she is becoming a better player simply because of the huge range of attacking options that Arsenal have – and the competition for starting places.
“I’m feeling really good. It’s so special to be an Arsenal player in front of our home fans. I love the club, I’m so grateful for the club. I’m just playing with a smile on my face.
“We have an unbelievable front line so we’re being challenged every day to be at our best. I think we’re getting the best out of each other. It’s a long season so we need to keep pushing each other. It’s a great environment to be part of.”
It is a stark contrast to the way she described her feelings in her final days at Manchester City – the club she left in January, first on loan and then permanently – when she posted on social media: “I want to make you all aware that we as players dedicate our lives to our sport and our clubs but our dreams can be crushed whilst we live in silence.
“I am human and I have and will give everything to the game that I love. Ultimately I just want to be happy again.”
