Being the partner of a footballer can generate certain assumptions. Lewd gossip, hunger for public attention and extravagant opulence are some of them.
However, when a video of Martin Odegaard’s girlfriend, Helene Spilling, celebrating Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Chelsea against Shakira’s ‘Waka Waka’ in the stands of the Emirates last week went viral on social media social, was a microcosm of a culture created at Arsenal by the sporting director. Edu, Mikel Arteta and the hierarchy.
A core of the group meets at matches and also socializes outside the Emirates. These include Spilling, Tolami Benson, Milly White, Sophie Weber and Laura Trossard Hilven.
These are the partners of Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard respectively.
Arsenal’s WAGs have played a crucial role in the team’s magnificent season and fight for the title
The support of the players’ partners sums up the culture that Mikel Arteta has instilled in the club: Pictured: WAG traveling to Munich for the second leg of the Gunners’ Champions League quarter-final against Bayern de Munich.
Cheryl Cole (front) and Coleen Rooney (back) are seen supporting England at the 2006 World Cup, a tournament where the WAGs became a distraction.
Arteta has insisted on bringing families in to support the team’s ambitions.
This group of five has been the most prominent, but Arteta and Edu’s family atmosphere is understood to have been felt by several of the players’ associates, including Declan Rice’s girlfriend Lauren Fryer and Aaron Ramsdale’s wife Georgina.
Four of the women stayed together at one of their houses to watch Arsenal beat Sheffield United 6-0 in March. And on match days, you can see many members of the group in the stands cheering on their men, far from seeking the limelight themselves.
This was the case during the game against Chelsea, where Spilling took a photo with Odegaard from the pitch, and the group was also together on the trip to Bayern Munich for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. from Arsenal.
It is a far cry from the stereotypical WAG image of the 2000s, through characters such as Cheryl Cole and Coleen Rooney, in which the activities of the England football team’s partners during the 2006 World Cup often attracted as much attention as football itself.
When Mail Sport asked about this growing group of families socializing together, Arteta said: “It’s obviously great to see because it’s necessary.” We have a lot of foreign players who obviously have their families, wives and girlfriends nearby and need support.
‘They need to build those friendships and those close circles around them. We have created that, great credit to them and how much they have put into it because it is really useful for the team, so if they are happy, all the better because the players will be happy and more settled.
“It gives you a much greater sense of belonging somewhere when you really feel like you’re a part of something.”
Martin Odegaard’s girlfriend Helen Spilling captured the current atmosphere among Arsenal players and their families as she danced to celebrate their victory over Chelsea.
Kai Havertz’s girlfriend Sophie Weber (left), Bukayo Saka’s partner Tolami Benson (center), Ben White’s wife Milly (right), Martin Odegaard’s wife Helen Spilling (top left) and Laura, the wife of Leandro Trossard, in the Emirates.
Martin Odegaard’s partner Helen Spilling has been a prominent figure on the sidelines this season, as has Declan Rice’s girlfriend Lauren Fryer.
Since taking the reins at Arsenal in December 2019, Arteta has long considered family to be a crucial piece of the puzzle for his players to perform at their best. As the old saying goes: “A happy wife, a happy life.”
A key event that brought the group of five together was the two-week winter trip to Dubai in January. The Gunners headed into the break having been beaten twice in a row in the league, against West Ham and Fulham. Morale was at rock bottom.
For his trip to the Middle East, along with the players’ families. The club organized some bonding sessions to integrate them in the belief that doing so would have a wider positive effect.
The Arsenal manager’s decision to invite his relatives on the trip was initially met with skepticism. Arteta, however, saw an opportunity.
It was a measure that has improved the sense of unity that he wanted so much to foster.
This month, Saka’s girlfriend Benson (right) shared a photo of herself in the Emirates with Trossard’s wife Laura (left), who was also photographed with Trossard’s wife Laura (right).
Arteta’s commitment to union benefits Arsenal after reaching the top of the Premier League
The Gunners aspire to win their first title since 2004 and the feeling of well-being among their families drives them to the end.
Since the trip to Dubai, and before, the club has worked to ensure that none of the families feel isolated by encouraging them to get to know each other.
It is particularly important for pairs of players who joined the club in the last year, like Havertz, or who came from abroad.
He added: “We do certain things, we try to bring everyone together to try to at least have the ability to connect and then obviously a relationship.” “If you like someone or want to spend time with someone, that’s something super personal and something that depends entirely on that person.”
It’s not just about the partners. Children have also been accommodated, as they can often feel the isolation of having a parent in the public eye.
Arteta himself has had no qualms about having family nearby. At Arsenal’s pre-season in the United States last summer, he involved his teenage son Gabriel in the opening training session in Washington DC.
Arsenal and Arteta will hope this union continues so that the Gunners continue to win on the field, while the same thing happens off it as well.
