Arsenal Ladies days of dominance coming to an end says Chelsea boss Emma Hayes



Her comments come after her side lost 1-0 to Arsenal in the Women's FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday as the Blues failed to defend the trophy they won last year.

Danielle Carter's first-half strike saw Arsenal lift the FA Cup for the 14th time but Hayes is pleased at the progression in the women's game.

She said: "Everyone accepts that women's football today is not what it was 10 years ago.

"The days of Arsenal Ladies dominating trebles and quadruples, thank goodness, is a day of the past because it was not a competitive league.

"Now one of a number of teams could be in a position to win games and I have said before that the likelihood of trophies flipping between three, four, maybe five clubs as it progresses is high."

Arsenal manager Pedro Martinez Losa agreed that the future of women's football is going to bring changes to the dynamic of the sport.

He said: "I think the past is the past and we are very proud of it as a club but now we have to look forward.

"The future is different, the future is more competitive and now there are more clubs.

"The leagues are more processional, there are more people involved, we have 33,000 people in Wembley.

"Football is always evolving and we have to give it the respect to move forward, the way we want to play

We are here now but we cannot say we are going to win everything because the opponents are good professionals and I think the future women's football will be very competitive."

Veteran Gunner Kelly Smith was a surprise addition to the starting XI for Arsenal but the 37-year-old's well-timed tackles kept her side in the game.

Smith missed much of last season due to injury and has now won 12 trophies in all competitions with the Gunners.

In the run-up to the match she made it clear how much she wanted to be involved in Arsenal's first FA Cup final at Wembley.

Speaking about her performance manager Martinez Losa said: "She gave us what we needed on the tactic part but also with her personality and experience, she was fantastic.

"We were better than Chelsea with Kelly in the middle and with the character of Kelly made a difference in every team

When you still have more energy all you can say is thank you Kelly!"

Source : PA

Source: PA