January signings have a reputation for being a bit of a gamble, but Stina Blackstenius is doing her bit to ensure that stereotype falls by the wayside. Since arriving in North London the Swedish striker has hit the ground running, managing six goals and one assist in just 11 WSL matches, and admits she's already feeling at home.
"I feel like I have settled in pretty good," she tells football.london in an exclusive interview. "The team has been really helpful with that since I’ve been here. I just went right into the games just a few days after I came here. It’s a really good group of girls and good coaches like the club has in total."
It's this immediate sense of belonging that makes her so excited for what's to come next season. We are talking ahead of the release of Arsenal's new home kit for the upcoming 2022/23 campaign, and Blackstenius admits she's a fan of Adidas' latest offering.
READ MORE: New 2022/23 Adidas Arsenal kit: Home shirt unveiled as Gunners announce community initiative
"I like it," she says. "The collar is pretty cool, it makes it old school, which I think is cool. Then the colours of course are red and white which are nice colours."
For each of the shirts sold directly through the club, Arsenal will donate £5 to the Arsenal Foundation to fund the work they do in supporting local businesses and charities. Blackstenius admits that the close bonds she has already formed at the club stretch out into the fanbase, and the chance to do something for them is one that she's excited to be a part of.
"Yeah the community is such a big part of this club and we want to give back to them on and off the pitch," she says. "(The fans) have been very welcoming since I came here, which makes me happy. It’s always nice to have a good relationship with the fans and we want to make them happy. They’re really important for us. I’m just trying to make my best, to play good football, to adapt to the team and to get along with the fans."
Yet again the kit is based on the shirts worn by the illustrious teams of the 90s era. While Blackstenius offers up a slightly embarrassed chuckle when she admits that she is too young to have seen the trophy-laden teams of that decade, the Swede is clear that emulating them was one of the main reasons for her decision to join Arsenal despite interest from a number of different clubs across Europe.
"That was absolutely one of the parts of my decision," she says. "I felt like the club was really interesting since it’s very professional with a good team. I watched them a lot before I came here and really enjoyed it, so yeah just a good impression from the start."
Part of the reason the Gunners are confident of doing just that next season is the immediate partnership that Blackstenius has formed with Vivianne Miedema. Since bringing his compatriot in during January, Jonas Eidevall has tweaked the Arsenal line up to drop Miedema into a slightly deeper number 10 position, while using Blackstenius as a more traditional number nine.
This partnership, affectionately known by Arsenal fans as 'Vivstenius' is able to bring the best out of both players, combining Miedema's more creative leanings with Blackstenius' finishing expertise, and has already started to pay dividends. The most obvious example of this so far has been in the Gunners' WSL clash with Manchester United, where Miedema picked up the ball deep in her own half, before firing an inch-perfect for Blackstenius to run on to and turn home.
There is a slight awkwardness as the topic of their partnership is raised with the Swedish striker, not because of any issues, between the pair, but because Miedema is standing just meters away! "He’s asking me to say nice things about her when she’s sat next to me!" Blackstenius chuckles.
"Everyone knows she’s a quality player and the level she plays at," Blackstenius goes on to add. "It has been nice for me to just play with her and everyone else and I hope we can improve even more in time."
Miedema is chuffed with the glowing reference from her teammate and laughs as Blackstenius turns to her to make sure she has heard what she had to say.
The jokey atmosphere evaporates quickly as thoughts turn to next season though. Arsenal are on a three-year trophy drought, one of the longest in the club's history, and came within a point of ending that, only to be beaten to the WSL title by Chelsea on the final day of the season. If any extra motivation was needed, the Gunners can add revenge to the list of things spurring them on towards success in the upcoming campaign. Blackstenius is clear that she wants nothing less.
"We have high expectations on next season," the Swede says with steely focus. "We know that we’re a good team with good quality. Hopefully, we can achieve a lot."
The new Arsenal home kit will be released on May 19 with £5 from every new home shirt bought directly through Arsenal ahead of the new season going to the Arsenal Foundation to support local community projects. For more information, please visit arsenaldirect.arsenal.com
