Former Manchester United women’s fullback, Ona Battle, is the latest to comment on Mariona Caldentey’s switch to Arsenal Women.
After re- joining her childhood club Barcelona in the summer of 2023 Battle was able to share the dressing room with Caldentey once again. Thus, given that they’re also national teammates for Women’s World Cup winning champions, Spain, the two must have interacted on multiple occasions.
That said, Battle, who’s had the chance to play in the WSL before returning to play in Liga F, was asked why she thinks Caldentey opted to move to England to play in the WSL for Arsenal.
Battle believes that her compatriot chose to play abroad out of curiosity, implying that most Spanish talents are now eager to explore opportunities in different leagues.
She said, “We’re at a point where Spanish players are considering moving to other leagues. In the past, they rarely thought about it or saw it as easy to live in other countries, but now there’s growing curiosity.”
🗣️ Ona Batlle on Mariona’s departure from Liga F: “We’re at a point where Spanish players are considering moving to other leagues. In the past, they rarely thought about it or saw it as easy to live in other countries, but now there’s growing curiosity.” [1/3]
— @LaiaBonals pic.twitter.com/yjAtftSfck
— Barça Femení (@BarcaFem) September 7, 2024
Whether it was curiosity or not, Caldentey’s arrival at Arsenal presented an opportunity the Gunners couldn’t pass up. Well, gladly, she’s played Arsenal’s first 2 games of the season and is living up to the hype; she’s been a hit, and fans are already loving her influence, even dropping one of the finest chants that filled Meadow Park, after the 1-0 win over Rosenborg in the UEFA women’s Champions League round 1 final. Can’t wait to see what 2024-25 has to offer for Caldentey and our Gunners, can you?
Danni P
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