England legend shows true colours with selfless Arsenal admission: 'I was lucky'

Jordan Nobbs is hopeful the next generation of female footballers won't have to rely on the luck she admits she benefitted from. The former Lioness, who now plays in the WSL 2 with Newcastle United, has spent over 17 years in women's football, playing for a multitude of teams.

With 12 domestic trophies under her belt at Arsenal, Nobbs has spent time with Sunderland, the Gunners, Aston Villa and now Newcastle. The 32-year-old has 71 caps for England, scoring eight goals and winning various international honours as a Lioness - including the 2023 Finalissima, two Arnold Clark Cups and two Cyprus Cups.

Nobbs' impact on women's football as a whole cannot be understated, given that she was one of the stars to spearhead the initial success of the international team, as well as breaking the appearance record in the WSL in October 2024.

However, the veteran midfielder is even more hopeful for the future of women's football, as she takes part in the FA Grassroots campaign as the WSL season gets underway. Nobbs exclusively told Mirror Football about the luck she was on the receiving end of by joining Arsenal at a young age, and her aspirations for the next generation of stars.

Describing her fortune during a difficult period of women's football, the midfielder said: "I was very lucky to join Arsenal when I was 17. They were a club that had grown very fast and probably faster than most other clubs.

"But I mean, I think everyone in football knows the sacrifices you make. So I think moving [away from] home at the age of 17 and missing a lot of weddings and things with these schoolmates and everything like that.

"Football is what I love and what I want to do, but it comes with the consequences of, you know, there's got to be some sacrifice in that job to be the best and get to as far as you want to go, really.

"So I'd say that I have seen a lot of players that I grew up with at England youth age groups who didn't make it as far as you thought they would have, and that's because of so many different circumstances, which is difficult.

"It's so tough, and now, obviously, given how far we've pushed the game, we want these opportunities to be as high as possible for the younger girls and for everyone to be able to play football and not have to either retire because of their wages or pull out because of other circumstances."

Reflecting on the unsung hero who kept her footballing dream alive, Nobbs added: "I would throw my dad in there - obviously, he’s family, but I think everything they do for you [is so important]. He used to play football, so all the knowledge he kind of gave me to push me as a player, and [he] directed me on the right route to my football career.

"You can never forget where you come from, can you? All that time you spend as a kid, where your parents are taking you around, or coaches, or sometimes other people's parents. They're like the most important years, which I think develop you as a player and team skills and friends, and I think that's why with grassroots, it's just so important that that is there to keep you going.

"So I think it's the start of your journey. It's not just seeing the good of it 15 years later; it's what you did right at the start as well to help improve you and just be a good human at the same time. I've had so many people say that, where they go, ‘You know, I wish I'd stuck at it,’ but you can totally understand why some didn't, and some lucky ones I guess, stayed on."

Nobbs stuck with plenty of familiar faces throughout her young career, growing up alongside Lioness icon Lucy Bronze at Sunderland. She said: "I’m lucky that I grew up at Sunderland where there was Lucy Bronze, Lucy Staniforth, and Demi Stokes, and I grew up the whole time playing football with them. So they're definitely in the best friends category.

"I've played with Lucy Staniforth at Villa and then now I've come to Newcastle where Demi is so yeah, it's always nice to see your friends also progress in the game as well - it's a nice moment for all of us."

When asked for her biggest high in the sport, Nobbs was quick to highlight her domestic success with Arsenal as well as becoming a debutant goalscorer with the Lionesses, all the way back in 2013. She said: "I'd say the key moment for me was scoring on my England debut and then winning 12 domestic trophies with Arsenal.

"I think when you become a footballer, especially when it started, the game hadn't grown as much as what it has now and you just wanted that winner mentality to win trophies and that was kind of always the competitive side of me, so, yeah, they were huge moments within the game that I'm very proud of and moments that I won't forget."

In terms of the future, Nobbs is continuing to build her legacy in the sport with Newcastle United in WSL 2 and will continue to demand more to be put into grassroots in order for women's football to continue its upwards trajectory in the long run.

She added: "I think it’s important to keep pushing grassroots football and the opportunities for everyone, because if you don't have that grass pitch that you can go to down the road, or you don't know where your local schools are to play football or join a team, then it won’t work.

"I think grassroots plays a massive part and allows opportunities in developing young kids into playing football, however far they want to go with it.

"It's still having that opportunity aspect and facilities that we want to provide for young kids. And we've seen a huge change in that. I think there are millions of children now playing in England just through the pushing of grassroots football. So, we've seen it grow, and hopefully, that can just keep developing and allowing young girls to live their dreams."

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