Lauren James smiles as Beth Mead tries to answer how Arsenal will dethrone Chelsea this season.
Although James and Mead are good friends through their experience as England team-mates, an interview with two players from rival clubs did not go as usual.
The new Women’s Super League season kicks off on Friday and both James and Mead took some time out to talk to Mail Sport about their preparations, the new players, the management changes and more.
James’ Chelsea first take on Aston Villa, while Mead’s Arsenal take on Manchester City.
This is how our conversation went…
England teammates Lauren James (left) and Beth Mead prepare for the start of the WSL season on Friday
James’ Chelsea and Mead’s Arsenal are two of the favourites for success in the coming season
Chelsea won the WSL title for the fifth year in a row last year and will be hoping to retain it again
First of all, it must have been nice for both of you to finally have some time off this summer?
Beth: It didn’t feel like a long time away, I don’t know how LJ felt…
Lauren: I had two chances to leave…
Beth: Oh, that’s nice!
It’s tough. It’s such a long season and then you’re expected to switch off after 10 days to two weeks and I think some people are better at that than others. I had the opportunity to go away for a week and then I went home to my family for a week, so take what you can get.
Lauren, you have a new manager in Sonia Bompastor. How is she different from Emma Hayes and what was it like getting to know her?
Lauren: She is a good manager, I think what she has won says that. What she is bringing in is clearly to help us win the Champions League. You could see from day one that she is a winner. It is still early days but everyone is looking forward to seeing how the season goes.
One of the players she brought with her is Lucy Bronze. How much impact has she had?
Lauren: I think everybody knows Lucy is Lucy, what she brings on and off the field. She fits in well. I think everybody is just excited to play with her.
Beth, Arsenal have also signed a number of new players. How are they enjoying it?
Beth: It was a bit of a whirlwind for them, but the girls have adapted wonderfully. Mariona is a very good footballer, has won everything, brings a lot of experience and quality to the team.
Rose [Kafaji] is very exciting, quite a raw talent. Daphne [van Domselaar]goalkeeper, is competition for Manu [Zinsberger]they are great additions and they have settled in very well.
Did the new girls have to undergo an initiation?
Beth: We don’t do initiations, we have Kim Little as captain and Kim says she would never do one so she won’t let anyone else do one! There’s no pressure for that here.
Lauren: Millie Bright is joining in, she’s turning it into a competition…
Beth: Of course she does, Millie loves it!
Lauren: Lucy did great, we had two young children who were the best, they even won.
It is strange to have two players from two different teams next to each other. But Beth, how can Arsenal finish in third place twice in a row and try to dethrone Chelsea?
Beth: I think we just have to be consistent. We’ve had a season where we beat every team below us, but then dropped points against the bigger teams. Last season we might have got the most points against the top teams, but then dropped stupid points against the lower teams.
I think it’s a matter of finding consistency throughout the season to get games over the line and not drop silly points because at the end of the season we’re not many points behind teams but when you look back it’s frustrating because we’ve lost games where we had one chance against ourselves and gave one chance away. I think that’s a big part of our game that we need to improve.
And Lauren? I see you’re smiling…
Lauren: As Beth said, we have to make sure we don’t give up points to the lower teams and be consistent.
Mead explained how Arsenal are looking to improve this campaign after two consecutive third-place finishes
James meanwhile explained that there is a need for consistency as the competition continues to intensify
Arsenal were the best team in the country before Chelsea came along and will be hoping to reach that level again
Is it harder to stay consistent now that each team is getting stronger?
Beth: I think that’s why we love the WSL, one of the best leagues in the world at the moment, probably one of the most competitive leagues from top to bottom.
No game is an easy win or a guaranteed three points, I think that’s what’s exciting about the league, but it makes it hard to play in. You have Champions League games and then you come back and you play a tough team. Every team gets stronger.
Lauren: I think it will definitely be harder, but it is good for the competition. You don’t come to the games knowing you are going to win, it makes it more exciting for the competition and for the people watching.
Outside of the WSL, you’re both hoping to go deep in the Champions League this season. Lauren, you were so close to the final last year, how will Sonia’s experience of winning it as a player and manager help?
Lauren: It’s the competition I want to win and Chelsea want to win. With the help of Lucy, who I think has won five times, it will obviously help to have her on the pitch and her experience, and then Sonia’s experience will add to that.
Beth: As Lauren said, it’s a trophy that we all want to win. It’s a prestigious trophy that we all strive to get close to. It’s been a long time since an English team won that trophy, so it would be nice if we could all compete if we got close, or otherwise not win the trophy.
You both have some exciting friendlies with England against Germany and the United States. Lauren, a reunion for you with Emma Hayes?
Lauren: It will be strange playing against Emma because she knows me inside and out. It will also be good for the fans to see two great games at Wembley. Hopefully we can win them both.
Beth: We have a lot of great memories of Wembley, the final of the European Championships, we played the USA at Wembley and beat them last time, so it’s great preparation for the European Championships. We’ll obviously have a target on our backs going into that tournament. You’ve got to play the best to beat the best. Emma is the boss of the USA, a natural winner, who’s just won the Olympics. I think it’s a good test to see where we are and where we can improve. They’ll test us at a good level.
Emma Hayes is no longer the boss of Chelsea as she has given up her role to take over at the United States
James explained how tough it will be to take on her former boss when England take on the US at Wembley in November
You are both ambassadors for McDonalds’ Fun Footballtell us why you got involved?
Beth: I’m a little bit older than Lauren, but growing up it was hard to get into football. The Fun Football sessions are free to attend, so it’s nice to be a part of that and to be able to bring that to their doorstep. I’m proud that since 2022 we’ve had half a million kids attend these sessions. Those are pretty incredible numbers and it’s worth being a part of.
Lauren: It’s just good that it offers free football for girls and for all levels. When I was growing up there wasn’t always access, even I had to play with boys, there’s not always girls only teams. It allows girls to start at a young age.
Beth Mead and Lauren James celebrated the final wave of free McDonald’s Fun Football sessions this autumn, available to all children aged 5-11 in the UK. Sign up now for your nearest free session at mcdonalds.co.uk/football