Emily Fox exclusive: 'She has everything' – Arsenal star on Mariona Caldentey, WSL aims and Olympic gold

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Ahead of the new Women's Super League season, Arsenal full-back Emily Fox talks to TNT Sports' Pete Sharland about new signing Mariona Caldentey, winning Olympic gold with the United States, and just what it is about Arsenal fans that makes them so special. Fox and Arsenal begin their WSL season at the Emirates with a blockbuster clash against Manchester City on Sunday, with kick-off at 12:30 BST.

Watch USA's women celebrate winning football gold as Cruise and Rapinoe applaud

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Chances are if you are an Arsenal fan, you have seen the recent video of major summer signing Mariona Caldentey talking about her surprise that supporters already had a chant for her so soon.

The chant in question, sung to the tune of The Beatles’ Twist and Shout, is a good one, but if anyone knows just how quickly Arsenal fans take to players and get creative, it’s USWNT full-back Emily Fox.

Fox joined Arsenal from NWSL side North Carolina Courage and quickly established herself as a real fan favourite.

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Before the start of the brand new WSL season, Fox joined TNT Sports for an exclusive interview and there was a laugh when the question of Caldentey's chant was brought up. Did she know it was coming?

“Yeah, absolutely,” Fox says with a smile. “I mean with my first game at Borehamwood [a 5-1 win against Watford in the FA Cup] everyone was like ‘oh, I wonder what your chant is going to be’ and I was saying ‘there's no way I am going to have a chant, that’s crazy’ but having a chant straight away it was unbelievable.

“And in the second half the season last year, I never really felt like we had an away game, no matter how far it was because we always had the most people whether it was two hours or three hours away, so that really shocked me at how many people were willing to make the effort to come support us from far away.

“So for Mariona I was not surprised by this in terms of her chant and the warm welcome from the fans and all that.”

But what about Caldentey the player? Well, like with the chants there is no-one better to ask than full-back Fox, who is one of those having to go against the forward in training. You have to know how intense the look was on Fox’s face when she talked about Caldentey. Intense with admiration, and joy.

“She's so good," she says. "Very hard to defend and we weren't surprised when she was nominated for the Ballon d’Or - just really fun to play with.

“I mean it's a huge signing I think having her and Codi [Laia Codina] come from Barcelona and share their experiences, it's been amazing and we're very lucky and happy to have her.

“I think with her too, she's really good at involving other players and being very unpredictable. It’s just her movement and I said her ability to connect other players and other positions on the pitch. So I think with her she's really good at just bringing people in and exploiting defenders when they try to come out and close gaps. She’s able to go out on the line or cut back inside, she has everything in her toolbox.

“When you're playing against a low block, it is about being structured, but it's also about being creative and unpredictable and taking those risks. So I think with Mariona that spark and having that creativity and unlocking it for other players will be key.”

Mariona Caldentey of Arsenal and Victoria Pelova of Arsenal celebrates victory during the UEFA Women's Champions League 2024/25 First Round Mini-Tournament Final match

Image credit: Getty Images

Despite only joining in January, Fox’s connection to Arsenal actually goes back even further.

Fox revealed that she and team-mate Zoe Boocock were both offered trials by Arsenal when they were teenagers. Fox couldn’t make it but Boocock did and ended up meeting Lotte Wubben-Moy. Yes that Lotte Wubben-Moy, born in London and Arsenal through and through.

Well, except for two years when she attended college in America at North Carolina. And guess who she was team-mates with – even providing assists for her and fellow Arsenal star Alessia Russo in the 2019 ACC semi-finals and finals – yes, that’s right, Fox. It’s funny how life can come full circle sometimes.

“Honestly the first time I heard about Arsenal was when I was, I want to say 13 or 14," says Fox.

"Me and my team-mate - who had dual citizenship with the US and England - we had the opportunity to actually go and train with Arsenal.

“I didn't end up going, but she went and - this is a crazy story - but she actually met Lotte [Wubben-Moy]. Who then obviously, I met and played with in college and now play with again at Arsenal.

Lotte Wubben-Moy and Emily Fox of Arsenal after the Women's FA Cup 4th round match between Arsenal Women and Watford Women at Meadow Park on January 14, 2024 in Borehamwood, England.

Image credit: Getty Images

“But that was the first time I heard about Arsenal, my club coach had a connection with them and they were the first women’s team outside of the USA that I had heard about at that age. So it is crazy how that happened.

“I knew I always at one point wanted to play overseas and in the Champions League, obviously for the football, but also just to kind of extend myself and push myself outside of football as well, in terms of being in a new culture, new country etc.”

It’s been a crazy year for Fox.

After joining Arsenal she scored the winning penalty in the final of the SheBelieves Cup against Canada. She then played a starring role as her country went all the way to win Olympic gold, their first women’s football gold since London 2012.

Fox admits that it was "all hands on deck" in the summer with new head coach Emma Hayes unable to take over until the end of the previous WSL season.

Watch as Swanson grabs winning goal for USA against Brazil in women's football final

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Despite minimal time Fox says she was impressed by how Hayes implemented her ideas and brought the team together, saying that the trust in the team’s experience played a key role in their success.

“I think with Emma coming in with new stuff and new players as well it really was all hands on deck in terms of focusing on the Olympics. But also, the pre-Olympic camp to kind of get everything on the same page.

“I think she definitely implemented tactics and philosophies that she wanted and we joked for a while that in the first camp we had a lot of meetings but they were very helpful and we needed them just in terms of all of us getting on the same page, same language, in terms of what we wanted from each other, but I think with that we wanted that we want a hard start, we didn't want it to be easy.

“And I think with Emma she did a great job of trusting us with what she wanted to do and then we all kind of worked it out, and I think with each game we got better and better, but credit to Emma because it is crazy that. We won all those games with her in such a short period of time.”

'I am emotional' - Hayes thanks her dad after USA's women win gold in final

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But now all focus is on Arsenal. We spoke before the first leg of the Champions League clash with Hacken (which was a 1-0 loss) but Fox is firmly of the belief that the pieces are there for the team to take the next step and challenge Hayes’ old team Chelsea for the WSL title.

They kick off the campaign with a blockbuster clash against last year's runners-up, Manchester City. The game will take place at the Emirates with over 40,000 tickets sold. w

“Last year a lot of it was just the ability to be clinical and we talked about a low block and just the details about breaking that down.

“I think if you look back last year there were a few games where we tied or lost that we felt like we really could have won and so I think this year we’re really focusing on taking it game by game and really honing in on finishing our chances, whether we get 50 or one and the details in the game.

“I definitely think with Man City being our first game, it's a perfect test for us to see where we are.”

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