Will the first half of the season determine Kathrine Kuhl’s fate at Arsenal Women?
In January, the Arsenal Women’s team chose to loan Danish midfielder, Katherine Kuhl, to Everton in the hopes that she would earn more playing time. She had failed to break into the Arsenal engine room during the first part of the 2023-24 season, instead warming the bench, which did her no favours.
Kuhl made an impressive ten league appearances for Everton, and many were anticipating she would build on that when she returned to Arsenal in the summer. Jonas Eidevall’s decision to not send her out on loan suggested that he planned on using her this season.
However, in Arsenal’s six games this season, she has only appeared for four minutes, in a 6-0 victory over Rangers. Fans have questioned whether the Arsenal Women technical bench had a strategy for Kuhl, given that she has been warming the bench for the last five games. According to Jonas Eidevall, yes, they do.
In his press conference on Friday, prior to Arsenal’s game against Everton, Eidevall revealed Kuhl hasn’t played much but is working hard in training; he views her as a #8, adding she has high potential and is still interested in playing a role, but only at the right time.
“Ke has not been playing so many competitive minutes so far this season, neither did Daphne van Domselaar before the game against Leicester. That is the situation we have in the squad when we have a lot of competition, sometimes really, really good footballers don’t get to play that much.
“I have to say when I see Ke in training, she is developing a lot and she is a great football player. The primary position I see her in is an 8, cos she is a hybrid between 6 and 10. She is comfortable on the ball and can go great distances and she can go box to box and really, really good in covering pressing distance.
“I see a lot of potential in Ke, she is one of these culture bearers for us, when we say, ‘even if you don’t play, do you apply yourself 100% in training every day? Do you make the group better?’ She is 100% one of those players.”
I believe the first half of the season will determine Kuhl’s fate at Arsenal. Given how crowded Arsenal’s schedule is and the need for squad rotation, Katherine Kuhl should receive her chance, and she should seize it with both hands or else she might have to reassess her position at the club in the winter.
