Mighty Mitch (Emma Mitchell interview)

Five years into life at Arsenal, Emma Mitchell has watched the club cycle through squads without ever quite finding consistency, and thinks Joe Montemurro has changed that by keeping the core together. The three German arrivals have brought a competitiveness she says the whole squad has followed. She is asked about a line Emma Byrne once printed about her in these pages – nuttier than squirrel poop – and pleads guilty, sheepishly; the same profile said she could become one of the best left backs in the world, and she says the environment she is now in should allow it. Scotland face a qualifying decider, and she is clear-eyed: beat Switzerland at home, win in Albania, avoid a play-off.