{"id":1430,"date":"2026-04-28T09:21:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/?p=1430"},"modified":"2026-04-28T09:21:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:21:35","slug":"catley-theres-nowhere-else-id-rather-be-interview-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/?p=1430","title":{"rendered":"Catley: \u201cThere\u2019s nowhere else I\u2019d rather be\u201d | Interview | News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Steph Catley has found a new home at Arsenal, and it\u2019s one she\u2019s going to be staying at even longer after the signing of her new contract was announced.<\/p>\n

Our dependable defender is geographically a long way from home in Australia, but has settled into our surroundings over the last six years.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the moment at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, Steph told us: \u201cIt feels amazing. There’s really nowhere else that I would rather be and it’s always nice to have that faith from the coach and from the club. It was an absolute no-brainer. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been a journey of many, many ups and downs. When I first came to the club, I think my first training session I got injured and then that whole season I was pretty much out, dealing with different injuries and felt very, very far away from home. Completely new team, new country, everything. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo that was a really tough time but as you sort of settle into it and as I sort of settled into the club, I realised very quickly this was exactly where I was supposed to be and I feel myself growing as a person, as a player. The friendships that I’ve made, it’s definitely more like a family and I’ve never felt as much at home anywhere in the world other than my home that I have here.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is one of the big sacrifices you make as an Australian footballer when you want to play overseas – that you are really, really far away and you can’t just drop home and hop in and see your family. So making those connections and feeling in your heart that you’re happy and you’re safe and the place that you’re at does feel like home is something very, very special and I think it’s rare in football. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t think many footballers can say that a club really does feel like home but for me that is definitely the case and I feel lucky to say that and I feel lucky to have the relationships that I do and the backing of the club as well to have me here.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Read more<\/span> <\/p>\n

Steph Catley signs new contract <\/span>
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Across Catley\u2019s time at the club, we\u2019ve won four trophies, namely two League Cups, the Champions League and the new Champions Cup. So how does it feel to be a part of Arsenal in those finals and on those matchdays?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the longer you’re at a club the more that those moments mean to you and I have been here a long time and those moments don’t come easy,\u201d Steph exlpained. \u201cThere’s so many good players in this league, so many incredible teams that are constantly fighting for titles and then obviously the Champions League which is just something I never even dreamed of. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think coming to Arsenal I knew that it was in the realm of possibility because it’s such a big club and we have so many good players but actually getting to that moment and getting over the line and being able to say we’ve won a Champions League and look around and see I’ve done that with some of my best friends in the world. I think it was just the most amazing feeling and it’s been a journey but getting to moments like that makes it all worth it and I’m so glad that I was able to do that with a club that’s so special to me and that just made it feel so much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steph was initially signed as a left-back under Joe Montemurro, but since Ren\u00e9e Slegers took over from Jonas Eidevall as head coach, our defender has also showed how capable she is of shifting across to centre-back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved it,\u201d she said. \u201cObviously when I joined the club I joined as a left-back but I’ve played a lot of centre-back throughout my whole career. I played there for the national team in a couple of World Cups and filled in at other clubs as well when I’ve had to. It’s always been a position that I’ve had in my locker but I just always saw myself as a left-back for the majority of my career. <\/p>\n

\u201cHaving that transition and then really feeling like I was able to grow into it and I had the trust from the coaches and the players around me to build into that role the way that I was able to was amazing. I just feel like it’s a natural progression of my career and my attributes on the field, off the field. I feel like I’m able to lead from that position and communicate with people around me and that’s probably one of my super strengths that I’m able to bring out more in that position. It’s been a natural progression but it’s been a fun one and I’m definitely enjoying it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Read more<\/span> <\/p>\n

Steph Catley: Leader in defence <\/span>
\n <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/article>\n

Steph brought her dog Calvin to the boardroom when signing her new contract, and there was a nice surprise as her mother dialled in via video call to offer her congratulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just saying earlier that these moments are incredible but they’re also moments you wish you could celebrate with those that you’re closest with and my family’s just so far away from home, so far away from where I am it’s just not possible,\u201d Steph added. \u201cWalking in there with Calvin, who’s my family here, was already amazing but then having my mum on the screen was a bit of a full circle moment and having her there just witnessing what I was doing all the way over here is very, very special and I’m so glad she could be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

After all these years, the novelty of walking out of our supporters at Emirates Stadium, Meadow Park or away from home never gets old, so what do they mean to Steph?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that is in particular what makes this club special – the supporters and I can’t really think of too many other clubs in the world that have the level of support that we do and the dedication from the fans week in, week out,\u201d she said. \u201cWe love having them at the Emirates, packed out, all together there at a home game but I think for me the most special part is whenever we go away, no matter where we are, they’re always the loudest. <\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes there’s more Arsenal fans there than the home teams and we’re just so, so lucky and I hope that they realise that we appreciate them so much as a playing group and it helps us so much when we’re out there and when things are tough we know that they’ve got our back. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re always loud and proud and there for us so yes, that’s one of the most special things about the club and when I was signing my contract that’s definitely something that goes into it. You know you’re supported as an athlete and that not only the people around you and the players and the staff have your back but the fans in the stands also do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Copyright 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steph Catley has found a new home at Arsenal, and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialsport.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}