Our Young Gun series gets to know the academy youngsters kicking off their careers at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.
Sophie Harwood spoke to us recently about moving up to our senior squad and making her Arsenal debut in pre-season against West Ham
My transition from the academy started this summer. I found out I'd be spending the first few weeks of pre-season with the first-team, and then they kept asking me to come back. I was one of the only younger players in essentially a completely new team but all the girls were so welcoming that it was a really easy transition.
Previously I'd been at Southampton for seven years, so I had experience in making a big switch, but all the girls in the under-21s were absolutely lovely. I've made some really good friends and everyone gets on so well.
When I was with the academy and looking up at the senior team, it was such a professional and intense environment. Now that I'm with them full-time, I see these professional behaviours every single day.
In particular, Kim Little always stands out because of how experienced she is, the leadership qualities she brings and then what she does on the ball is honestly magic. The standards she sets in terms of professionalism and quality is amazing and when you see someone like her always giving 100% effort, it inspires you to do the same.
As a full-back, it's incredible for me to have such world-class full-backs to look up to in training. I think the way Emily Fox drives with the ball and takes on players is amazing, and it's definitely something I want to bring into my game more.
It's been a case of learning my position inside and out, knowing the kind of areas I should occupy on the pitch and where I can use my attributes. There's been a lot of tactical development with the help of the coaches so that I can try to excel as a full back.
As a club, we play very high, attacking full-backs, and that suits my game really well. Especially when we invert into midfield, I can use those qualities I learned over the years as a midfielder.
"I love the one-club mentality we have here. Whether it's the women's, men's or academy teams, everyone's connected"
My advice for a younger player just starting their academy journey would be just work hard and always try to do more. Go into every single training session thinking: "How am I going to get better? What extra work can you do that no one else is doing?" That's the mindset that I've adopted since I was young. My old under-10s coach encouraged me to think that way and it has stuck forever.
I love the one-club mentality we have here. Whether it's the women's, men's or academy teams, everyone's connected. It really feels like we all want each other to do well and we're all working together for the same goal. The coaching and support staff are amazing and experienced and you learn so much from them every day.
I've been at Arsenal for a year and a half now and I think my favourite moment was definitely in pre-season, making my senior debut against West Ham. It was a really good opportunity to show what I could do in front of the fans at Boreham Wood.
I was so excited that I didn't even feel that many nerves. I'd had a good pre-season so I was feeling confident and really wanted to get on the pitch. When Renee told me before the match that I was going to be coming on, I was buzzing to get going.
Going on the Champions League trips has been incredible too. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to join the squad and some of the stadiums we've got to visit. Those trips also help you see the standards off the pitch in terms of the meetings and how we prepare for the games. We go into such detail on the game plan and the opposition, and it just makes it so clear that everyone's on the same page. I think that's so great.
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