Flight Mode

Arsenal’s summer signing Amanda Ilestedt reflects on a remarkable second half of 2023 in this cover interview, having scored four goals – three of them headers – on the way to a Sweden bronze medal at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, an unlikely Golden Boot challenge from a centre-back. The Swedish international, who arrived from Paris Saint-Germain having previously played in Germany with Bayern Munich, discusses adjusting to Arsenal’s individual fan songs and the noise of a 54,000 sell-out crowd, working alongside new teammates Lotte Wubben-Moy and Katie McCabe, and having former Gunners great Kelly Smith now on the Arsenal coaching staff. She also revisits Sweden’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain and the scramble to regroup for the bronze-medal game against Australia, plus lighter territory in a rapid-fire teammate quiz.