Aston Villa Women Experts thrilled as WSL legend Jordan Nobbs arrives in West Midlands
We’re delighted to welcome author Freya Taylor and former academy player Lyndsey Bissell as our exclusive Aston Villa Women experts. Each week they’ll be collaborating to give their views on the biggest talking points at the WSL club…
Arsenal legend Jordan Nobbs, who has spent her last 12 years in north London, will be making the move to Aston Villa on an 18-month initial contract with the option to extend in the future – which we really hope can happen.
Some have called the announcement a “shock” move, however, if you’ve been following women’s football closely, you won’t be surprised Nobbs has made her way to Villa, a WSL side with a sparkling future. Jordan hasn’t had the easiest of rides over the last year and half; due to injury she has missed out on recent major tournaments with the Lionesses and has had her playing time reduced for Arsenal too. Out of 16 games in all competitions so far this season, Nobbs has only started four games; and was again given the chance of wearing the captain’s armband for three of those four, due to the injuries of regular skipper Kim Little and Leah Williamson, a chance to show her strong leadership qualities on the pitch.
With this being World Cup year, many fans knew it was time for Jordan to either seek a loan or a more permanent move and with Jordan missing from Arsenal’s first January training photos, the feverish rumours of a transfer began. A move that many knew would provide Nobbs with a chance to attract Sarina Wiegman’s attention once more for the Lionesses, as her next appearance for her country would be her 70th cap.
Talking about why she decided now was the time to move, she mentioned talking to Villa boss Carla Ward and understanding how she saw “the drive within this team, I wanted to be a part of that” [official Aston Villa website]. Winning is part of who Jordan is as a player, with Arsenal she’s achieved accolades including three WSL titles, four FA Cups, five league cups, FA Player of the Year in 2016 and the FA Players’ Player of the Year in 2017. Adding to this, Ward recognised how Jordan is “a winner and will bring a wealth of experience that her new teammates will thrive off… We’re delighted to secure her signature and we hope this move can help the football club as well as cement her place back in the international set-up.” Rumoured to have also beaten other teams, such as Everton, in the race to sign Nobbs, this again consolidates the fact that Villa are ones to watch and are clearly now able to attract bigger names to the West Midlands.
As much as the signing is a fantastic move for Nobbs, it’s also adding some much-needed strength and depth for Villa (which we mentioned in our last blog) as we move into the second half of the season. It will be interesting to see how Ward adapts her playing formation with the addition of the ‘combative’ midfielder joining the ranks (4-3-3 maybe?); her ability to not only hold that midfield, but also push forward and score goals will be a huge addition to existing attacking options.
Looking closer at the current Villa set-up, we currently have a total of nine attacking/forward players which when compared to the six forwards of Arsenal and Manchester City for example, it’s clear Ward is creating a Villa side that is here to compete and win. Within our team, we’ve got a phenomenal wealth of collective experience and skill that shouldn’t be forgotten, but can be overlooked due to the current amount of injuries that are in the squad.
A quick scan of the team will show a collection of players that are either senior internationals that bring their wealth of elite experience, like Rachel Corsie (Scotland Captain) and Rachel Daly (European Champion) as well as fantastic younger players that have come through the academy with experience at England youth levels too. This undeniable progress within the squad, and hopefully when players are back from injury, will allow Ward to be able to rotate her players and show her true squad depth and quality from now on.
As Daly was a top-quality signing in the summer, by signing Nobbs it’s continuing to build a team that can take Aston Villa to the next level. The next question for the rest of the window and indeed for the summer too, has to be who else do we need to bolster this team? Do we look at other quality players who are on the bench more often than not in their current teams? For example, Demi Stokes and Steph Houghton from Manchester City? Or Lucy Staniforth from Manchester United? Or do we look to develop more England youth players like we currently have with Freya Gregory and Laura Blinkilde?
Villa who have already scored more goals this season than the whole of last season combined are certainly in for a fantastic 2023, with the Villans first home game against Tottenham Hotspur (including new signing, fellow Lioness Bethany England) on 14th January, then Manchester City away the following week. Two teams that Villa be looking to add to their goal tally against straight away. So far, we have been able to compete well with the teams at the top of the league and most of the time we have come away with either a point or losing purely down to a lack of options on the bench. This, of course, impacts player fitness, over-exertion of players (and maybe the reason behind so many ACL injuries this season) and issues like fatigue; which affects the players’ concentration on the pitch leading to mistakes within play. Luckily, this will start to change with more quality signings like Nobbs in the future. It’s clear to see that Aston Villa have a strong plan in place and can be considered contenders for the top spots of the WSL, as the team becomes more established.
Maybe unfortunately for Nobbs, her third fixture in claret and blue will see her against her former side in the FA Cup back at Meadow Park. However hard a fixture, we are sure that Jordan will continue to thrive with her new Villa family (and won’t feel too bad scoring against her former teammates). Saying that it will be a perfect opportunity for Jordan to say a proper goodbye to the fans that have supported her over the last twelve years and will be a wonderful moment if all fans to come together to celebrate a true legend of the game and give her the send-off she deserves.
In an open letter to Arsenal fans, Jordan described leaving Arsenal as “leaving the love of her life behind,” but Jordan, we hope more than anything that this fresh start and new challenge at Villa will allow you to learn to love again. Your new team and the fans are right here with you every step of the way Jordan, and we can’t wait to see you shine again. The road to the World Cup starts here.
In other Aston Villa Women news, Dan Bardell has had his say on the investment in the facilities at the club.