Erin Cuthbert is never one to shy away from a derby. The 25-year-old Scotland midfielder is happy to take credit for the increased intensity in recent games between Chelsea and Arsenal.
“Me and Katie McCabe definitely ramped things up!”
Both players are well-known for their fiery on-pitch personalities and they will be meeting again on Sunday as their teams face each other in the Continental Tyres League Cup final. As well as the trophy, there are bragging rights on the line, with each side having won their home match against the other in the league this season.
“When I joined the club, there was a big rivalry with Manchester City,” says Cuthbert. “But you always wanted to win against your London rival. With more fans coming into the game, the rivalry has certainly grown stronger.”
Chelsea have experienced some tough losses to Arsenal over the past 12 months, losing 4-1 at the Emirates in December and 3-1 in last year’s Continental Cup final.
“It plays on your mind,” says Cuthbert, who has scored seven goals in all competitions this season.
“We know we have to win duels. Our best performances have come when we win the battles. We know we have the ability in the dressing room, but winning duels is really important to us.
“We couldn’t get close to them at the Emirates. I don’t know whether that was down to fatigue or the whole experience being completely daunting, but we never really laid a glove on them over there.”
It was notable how much more aggressive Chelsea were in the return leg at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago.
Cuthbert says: “I remember being super fired up before the game.
“They even told me to calm down! I wasn’t flying into tackles in training or anything like that, but they could see in my eyes that I was up for it.
Cuthbert’s Chelsea were humbled 4-1 by Arsenal in the WSL in December (Warren Little/Getty Images)
“The Continental Cup final the last two years has been the same scenario (as the Emirates game). We haven’t laid a glove on the two teams we’ve played. That will certainly be at the front of our brains. There’ll be a bigger consciousness going into the game.”
Cuthbert joined Chelsea as an 18-year-old at the start of 2017. More than 200 appearances and a heap of honours later, her affection for the club is clear.
“I’m at Chelsea because I love winning trophies. I’m at Chelsea because I love celebrating with my pals,” says the five-time Women’s Super League and four-time Women’s FA Cup winner.
“I have the best people around me to make me the best that I am every day, so I want to do it for them, for us.”
This season has also seen Cuthbert step into a new role as captain. As Millie Bright and Sam Kerr have been recovering from long-term injuries, manager Emma Hayes has turned to Cuthbert and 24-year-old England defender Niamh Charles, with the armband rotating between the two.
When asked if it would have been understandable for Hayes to just pick one of them, Cuthbert interrupts.
“That would have been the normal thing,” she interjects. “But, as we all know, in Emma’s tenure, she doesn’t do things the normal way, does she?”
Hayes has spoken repeatedly about her desire to develop new leaders for Chelsea, to help leave them in a strong position when she moves on to the USWNT at the end of the season.
“I don’t really care about whether I’ve got the armband or not. In terms of my performance, in terms of how I apply myself, or how I prepare for a game, nothing’s any different,” says Cuthbert.
“It’s a great honour to represent the club that you adore, but nothing changes in that sense.
“Me and Niamh have maybe got a little bit closer in terms of having to discuss captain things that I’ve never been involved in before. The team might need certain things in training that they’re not getting, or certain things off the pitch analysis-wise, and you’re involved in all those conversations.
“You don’t realise how much goes on until you’re involved and it’s nice to have Niamh facilitate that with me.”
Leadership seems to suit Cuthbert, who continues to go from strength to strength on the pitch. She is Chelsea’s most reliable midfielder, with regular player-of-the-match displays, although she still feels she has more to give.
“I enjoy being aggressive, being in the thick of the action, but actually, sometimes that’s not always the most effective. I need to save my legs because I want to actually do things on the ball sometimes!
“Sometimes I’m dead because I’ve done so much defensive work, which is great for the team but the team needs me to just get on the ball and take a hold of things.”
Cuthbert credits Hayes for her development and for bringing her to Chelsea from Glasgow City seven years ago. She has played across the pitch in west London, including a long stint at wing-back a couple of seasons back, with her development reminiscent of the experience the 23-year-old team-mate Sjoeke Nusken is going through right now.
“I’ll always be grateful to Emma, no matter what,” says Cuthbert. “She took the chance on me. She believed in me and told me how much she thought I was capable of.
“She said, ‘You might not play, you might play in the reserves’, but at least she told me and everything was real and honest from her.
“Everything that me and Emma are is based on honesty. She’s been utterly brutal to me at times and I’ve been utterly brutal to her at times. I like that we have that relationship, that we want to win. We will both do anything to achieve success. That’s who I want to surround myself with.”
The looming reality for Chelsea and Cuthbert is that next season, there will be no Hayes to set the standard. Cuthbert is honest that she has “no idea” what this upcoming new era at the club will bring.
“It’s going to be weird. It’s going to be uncomfortable,” she says. “But it’s also exciting. Change is exciting.
“I’m going to miss Emma. She’s been great for me, the team, the club. She personifies everything that Chelsea is — but change has to be exciting.
“I’ve been at the club a long time, so a fresh pair of eyes might be a good thing. Who’s to say we can’t go on and achieve the same success, if not more, with someone else?”
(Top photo: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
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