Lotte explains her trophy-winning standards

Lotte, we have to talk about winning the UEFA Champions League. What are your memories of the match itself?

It’s mad. You spend your whole life preparing for moments like this, so when it gets to the actual 90 minutes you’re almost like, “This is the easy bit!” We did everything we possibly could have done as a team and a staff to prepare, execute our game plan and win that day.

When it came to the intensity of the game, it was then just about executing on the details and enjoying the game for what it was. I think the overriding feeling was one of digging deep. Every single player brought their side of that. For me, Less and Foxy, I think we drew on what we’d learned at college in America in Championship games. For players like Katie, she’s had gritty games with Ireland, where they’ve had to dominate opponents defensively. With the Lionesses, we have a history of playing against Spain and we knew that Barcelona would be just as hard to break down.

There were a lot of moving parts, but when it got to the game, it was like, “OK, let’s ride.” And we did. The adrenaline and emotions you feel on the day are the sort of details you can’t replicate during the week before, but I think they actually helped us thrive.

It’s a special concoction of feelings that you get in a game like that. We definitely lived every single one of them and so did our fans, to be honest. It just felt like it wasn’t just us on the pitch. It felt like every single supporter was living it with us and wanting us to win. My family definitely lived it in the stadium. I think that’s what made it all the more fruitful when we did ultimately win, because it felt like everyone had won.

Being able to play in that game and give every ounce of effort was very special. I just came on and did what I needed to do. I had Kim in front of me and we exchanged a few smiles. When you get to that point in a season, you know what you have to do. The rest becomes history.

What was your absolute favourite moment?

There was a moment that I shared with the fans. We had a red wall that day. It wasn’t a case of banging our heads up against the wall – it was the opposite. We bounced off it. Even though they were outnumbered by the Barca fans, you would have never known. They didn’t stop singing for the whole 90 minutes.

I had a moment with them after the full-time whistle and it felt like a conversation shared with thousands of people. I somehow managed to pick out my partner’s agent in the crowd, along with one of my childhood friends and her partner. I saw certain familiar faces that I recognised from Boreham Wood. That kind of interaction, after a game like that, after winning something like the Champions League, makes everything feel so much more human and even more real. I crouched down, shed a few tears and became overwhelmed with emotion.

There are so many cliches that you can say when you talk about representing a club, representing something bigger than yourself, but I live it. It’s my childhood, it’s my upbringing and so many key memories have culminated in a moment that I’ll remember for a lifetime.

Who was the family member you spoke to after the win?

My whole family came onto the pitch afterwards and Tao’s little siblings came running on too. My mum and dad said that you have a certain perspective from the stands and then when you’re on the grass, surrounded by all the players and the family members, you’re all sharing a really intimate moment.

Without my parents, I obviously wouldn’t be where I am today. After the sacrifices they’ve made, it was wonderful for them to also see the beauty of what we’d achieved and our connection with the fans. When I first saw them, I think I probably said, “I love you.” It’s funny: in the really hard moments, you say “I love you,” and in the really good moments, you say the same. We’ve certainly been through lots of hard moments and, likewise, we’ve been through lots of beautiful moments, but that overriding feeling of love gives you a steady foundation to do what you need to. It’s the best foundation for life.

The word family has been used a lot to describe our team in general, but we are one big family. When you add in our own families, there’s one beautiful group of people that you do it all for.

"knowing where you come from and knowing the past the club has is important"

Do you have a special place for your medal?

I don’t have a special place for my winner’s medal, but there is a different way I choose to remember what we achieved that day. I spoke with Kim in the summer and we both wanted something beautiful that the players could wear, to remember the day and make it super special. We landed on a ring because, while you can’t wear a medal every day, you can wear a ring.

We worked with Joe Bazanetti, who’s made a number of Arsenal rings before. He also went to school with Tao, so he’s a Stokey boy who’s always been an Arsenal fan. It felt only right to get him involved with the project.

Having played in America, there’s obviously this idea of having massive, blingy Championship rings. To be honest, that’s not very Arsenal and it’s not very practical to wear! So Baz and I went back and forth and my favourite idea was putting the Champions League stars around a gold band. He then came up with the idea of putting player initials and numbers next to “UEFA Women’s Champions League winner” on the inside of the band. A beautiful red engraving on the inside. So that’s what we came up with, and now it’s firmly on my hand every day.

In your footballing life, when did you feel furthest away from being a Champions League winner?

Wow, that’s such an interesting question. I feel very lucky, because I’ve won quite a few things with Arsenal and England, and there comes a point where you actually focus more on the everyday process. I think the way I go about my life and the process I go through on a daily basis are reflective of a Champions League win, because I always hold myself to those standards. So I don’t know if I’ve ever felt far away from the Champions League, but I’ve also never really thought of it because I believe in the process more than I believe in the accolades.

How was it to speak to the 2007 squad at the pre-Libson lunch?

It was special. It happened the week before we went to Lisbon, so to be able to connect dots like that always makes you feel a few feet taller. Knowing where you’ve come from and knowing the past the club has is important. Obviously 2007 was the first time and then, all those years later, we managed to do it again.

It was in 1987 that the women’s side was launched out of the community and Vic Akers was the leader of that. Then you’ve got the likes of Faye White, who came in to see us, and Yanks, who I even played with when I was starting out. It was a reminder of who’s been on this journey and how many years we’ve been on this journey.

Knowing that we’re amongst a special, special few is really affirming and makes you feel special in a way that you don’t feel too often, but something that we should feel being at Arsenal Football Club. When it came to game day and when Barcelona showed up with the symbols of all of their Champions League wins, we were like, “We deserve to be here. We’re going to fight. We’ve got a legacy too and we’ll stand on the shoulders of our legends.”

How often do people talk to you about the final?

I’m on my fifth squad with Lots to Explore and I’ll never forget the interaction with this most recent group. The girls often don’t know me when I walk in, which I really like. They might enjoy football casually, but the common denominator is that they’re local kids to the stadium, so I want them to be involved in the club. I want us to be able to serve the community in that sense.

I don’t love bigging myself up, but I guess that’s why other people introduce you! Holly, who helps run the programme, introduced me with a “Oh, and Lotte’s won the Champions League.” All the girls were like, “No way!” They all started getting so hyped. It’s funny because I walk in and I’m just another person they can chat to about school. Then all of a sudden it flips and they’re looking at your ring, going, “You’ve won the Champions League – that is so sick.” I guess winning the Champions League gives you street cred, so I feel quite lucky in that sense. That might be the biggest perk of it!

What were you thinking when you brought the trophy back home to north London?

A sea of red. It was like our castle and then there was this red moat around us. I honestly felt like I was flying. I looked down and saw my family in that sea of red. As far as the eye could see, it was Arsenal. I was up there with my Lessi, Foxy – my sisters. I’ve been with some of these girls for years and years and we got to live that together, a moment we’ll cherish forever. To continue the celebrations on the streets of north London was so special. The drive up to Emirates Stadium was always beautiful, but it’s ten times more now because of those memories.

How much did you know about our club’s success growing up?

I became aware of it early because I was interested, but that interest could have gone a lot further if football had been more accessible for girls. I do envy kids of today because they have it all at their fingertips.

Then again, I also think that when your access is limited, it makes you hungrier. It makes you want to seek it out more. My parents weren’t really into it, so my primary interaction with football and Arsenal was with my auntie. I remember being on the computers at primary school to search Arsenal players and the likes of Casey Stoney, Kelly Smith and Yanks would pop up. So I had my little library deep dives and I probably had quite a few Match Attax and stickers, like little hints of Arsenal peppered through my life. At first those hints mainly came in the form of the men’s team, but then, later on, the women’s team grew. I remember coming to one of the earliest games the Women played at Emirates Stadium, where Jade Bailey and Rachel Yankey were playing. Those days ignited the fire in me. Flash to a few years later and they’re both mothering me into the Arsenal squad. Now Emirates Stadium is my home and I never take it for granted. I feel like I can always give an extra per cent because it’s Arsenal.

Has your outlook or role developed as you’ve become more experienced?

I’d say that things don’t feel too different, because I don’t want to conduct myself in a different way. I think it’s beneficial for the team to have different voices in the room that can represent the wider group. I think when you’re able to delegate, when players feel empowered, which is the way Renèe makes us feel, it becomes easier to move the ship forward.

I enjoy being a senior player but I don’t really think too much about it. Just like when I get to wear the armband, it’s an honour, but it shouldn’t change the way you act. Just be you.