Jenna Nighswonger in action for the US women's national team
Oct 27, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; United States defender Jenna Nighswonger (5) kicks the ball down the field in the first half of the match against Iceland at Geodis Park. Mandatory Credit: Casey Gower-Imagn Images
Aston Villa head coach Natalia Arroyo says Jenna Nighswonger is settling in well after her loan move from Arsenal.
And the Spaniard added that the American had struggled with not being a regular part of the Gunners squad – which had triggered plenty of discussion, not least from Ian Wright, who expressed his shock at her absence.
“It’s always tough for a player and not having a chance to showthe talent andthe ambitions andthe dreams that you have,” Arroyo told SheKicks.net on Thursday afternoon. “It’s obviousthat was a difficult moment for her.”
Jenna Nighswonger: “Bringing good energy”
But things are looking brighter for Nighswonger now, who made her first appearance for Villa against Manchester United last weekend.
“We are getting some of the positive energy that she has now, where she can feel that she can help, she can train for maybe having minutes,” added Arroyo. “So we need to go step by step in terms of fitness and giving her the best chance – it’s not just throwing her into the games, but also giving her the best opportunities to have the minutes again and have the flow again after a season where she wasn’t participating.
“She’s bringing good energy,she has a good spirit, she wants to learn,she’s asking other questions now to try to have all the answers now. She just needs to get to know all the players that play around her and get to knowmore our patterns and our way of playing.
“She’s having quality, the quality that we wereexpecting and she has the ambition too, soshe’s helping us to face the second block of the season in the right way.
“We want to win, we want to grow, we want to bethere andit’s good to have experiences like hers from a top team like Arsenalor like Oriane [Jean-Francois] from a top team like Chelsea.So we are getting all the lessons from them to try togo closer to them.”