Anneke, welcome to your first Arsenal matchday programme interview. How do you feel you have settled into life here?
I joined last summer and settled into the club very nicely. So much happened in those first few weeks, and moving anywhere new can be quite exhausting because it’s a lot of change all at once. But I really feel at home now and I think I’ve truly arrived in the Arsenal family.
Were you nervous about moving to a new country?
Before moving to Arsenal I’d never lived anywhere but Germany, so I was naturally quite nervous. Not only because of the new team, but because I knew no one here. Now we’re six months in the nerves have gone and I can definitely say it was the right step to join Arsenal.
Our goalkeeper union is a special group where everyone really supports each other. How did they help you settle in?
They are all amazing. For me, it was especially good to have Manu here. She was the first person I really bonded with at the club. Part of it was because we speak the same language, but she’s also just such a nice person, so I felt welcome from day one. The other girls are so great as well and we feel like a little team within the team. They’ve meant a lot to me off the pitch, too. We have fun in training and then we meet up quite often away from the training ground for a coffee or just to chat.
We get along well as people as well as team-mates, so I’m very glad to have them. I’ve found my people and it was the goalkeeper union.
What differences have you noticed between the WSL and the Frauen Bundesliga?
I would say pretty much everything! It’s a very different style of football in England and the league is just on another level. You can’t always tell before a game how the opposition is going to show up, but we have to prepare for every match to be competitive. There are more teams legitimately competing for silverware and for Champions League qualification, so I think the teams in the league are closer together in terms of quality.
How have you adapted to the Arsenal way?
The goalkeeper training itself is completely different to what I was used to before and it took me time to adapt to that. It’s way more dynamic, there’s way more action out of possession, and I’ve had to increase my confidence with the ball at my feet. When you play for Arsenal you train with some of the best players in the world every day, so you just have to raise your own standards. The way these girls can strike a ball is unreal. Particularly when Liv Smith is kicking a ball at you, at speed – it’s not fun!
How much have you enjoyed playing with our backline?
When you have so many elite centre backs and full backs in front of you, you naturally get more comfortable with the ball at your feet. It’s been so nice to work with the defenders as a unit and with every game, we’re improving how we play out from the back and our build-up play.
When you get to know each other and understand each other’s movements on the pitch, you’re able to better predict where everyone will be positioned and the types of balls they’ll play. Goalkeepers are always measured on the clean sheets they get, but I think that’s a reflection on the back four and the goalkeeper!
You won the Arsenal Player of the Month in January. It must be lovely to be welcomed by the fans in that way?
Absolutely. I really appreciate their support. I have to say though, my clean sheet record is very nice, but that’s not just me! I felt very honoured to be named our Player of the Month, but those wins and those clean sheets were definitely a team effort.
How much do you enjoy playing in games at Emirates Stadium in particular?
It’s honestly a dream come true. That’s why you start playing football at a young age, to play those kinds of games in stadiums like ours. I’m just happy that I have the chance here to play in front of 30,000-plus people every other week at the Emirates. You never really get used to it. I get goosebumps every game! The atmosphere is incredible and I just really enjoy being out on that pitch with the girls.
Do you get energy from the supporters while playing?
Yes, definitely. The support during the FIFA Champions Cup final was just electric. It was a crazy match, even without the weather, and their support spurred us on too. It was unreal to play a final at the Emirates in front of so many fans and hear all the different chants. I enjoy my chant a lot – they’re always very creative!
That game was a rollercoaster of emotions because I got injured at the very end and missed the trophy lift. Those last few minutes are gone but I’m glad that I can remember everything from the match itself.
It would have been lovely to celebrate it with the girls afterwards, but it couldn’t be helped. I saw that Daph put my shirt on for the celebrations, which was such a nice gesture. That was very sweet.
Thankfully I’m clear from the concussion protocols, so now I’m working hard to get back into the squad ahead of some very important games.
"I didn't know anyone from the team before i signed, but they looked like such a fun group"
We qualified for the FIFA Champions Cup because of our victory in last season’s UEFA Champions League. Did you watch the final?
I did. I watched it with different eyes, because I knew maybe something was going to happen in terms of moving to Arsenal, but I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. So I was just quietly sitting there rooting for Arsenal. But it was such a great game to watch, and it was great to watch the girls celebrate afterwards. I didn’t know anyone from the team before I signed, but they looked like such a fun group. That match made me even more excited at the opportunity of joining the club.
What was it like joining the reigning champions of Europe? Was there a little pressure attached?
Yeah, not just a little bit of pressure! You come to Arenal and all of the squad are European champions, and some of them are even European champions with England as well. It would be very easy to come into the squad and feel the weight of that, but the girls do such an amazing job of making sure that new players feel welcome when they first join. There was a lot of pressure in the beginning, because this is a club with a big history and big ambitions, but you get used to it.
When do you think you became aware of the competition on the women’s side?
I really learned about the Women’s Champions League through my move to Wolfsburg, because that was a big step up compared to what I’d experienced at Werder Bremen before. I’d spent seven or eight years at Bremen before spending two years at Wolfsburg.
That step showed me where women’s football can go and how high the standard can get. In my first season at Wolfsburg we didn’t qualify for the Champions League, even though the team had reached the final the year before. Wolfsburg has a long history of success in the competition, so it was really interesting to see how important it was to the club to have Champions League football.
Playing in Europe in my second season made me realise just how high the standards are in Europe and how competitive it is. The professionalism and popularity of the game just keep growing.
Now that we’re approaching the knockout stages of the Champions League, what’s so good about this competition?
It’s just so exciting to play against the best teams in Europe. The matches are always so competitive, and they allow you to really see where our team stands in comparison to rest of the continent and, if you win it, the world. Those Champions League games are another feeling, as well. To step onto the pitch under the lights, it brings a different atmosphere.
How does it feel like to compete across a number of competitions at once?
It can get quite exhausting when you have three games a week, but that is ultimately why we play this sport. We want to be able to compete at the highest level and play in the Champions League and go as far as we can in every competition. The pressure is high, of course. We have to win every single game now to compete for trophies, but that’s just the exciting part. That’s why you come to a club like Arsenal.
What are you focusing on over the next couple of months?
I want to keep doing my best for the team. Whatever my role will be, I’ll be there to give everything, every day on the pitch and to give the girls the best training experience. We’re aiming for trophies together and we’re all going to give our best to achieve that. I’m excited for the last few months of the season and to see what we can do.