TThe headline on Arsenal's website in early August 2023 was short and sweet. “The teenage trio will join Watford on a dual deal,” the report said. That trio included Michelle Agyemang and Katie Reid, two players whose names were known to the biggest fans back then and who have since become part of the mainstream conversation for very positive reasons. More recently, they made headlines for a more devastating reason: they both suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
Every footballer's career requires a bit of luck and a coach must be brave enough to take risks. Knee injury leading to Leah Williamson missed the start season of the Women's Super League created an opportunity for Reid to get into the main team, and Alessia A blow to Rousseau's ankle led to Agyemang being called up to the England squad for the first time in April. Both subsequently shone while taking forced breaks from their professional journeys. especially cruel.
What then will happen to the third player who joined Watford from Arsenal on a double deal just over two years ago? Is she also eager for the chance to open the Arsenal door as soon as it opens? Well, her name is Layla Harbert, an 18-year-old midfielder who joined Portland Thorns this summer, her third loan move (she was also at Southampton) coming midway through the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) season as she looks to increase the intensity and level of her playing experience.
Speaking to the Guardian from Portland, Harbert called watching Agyemang and Reid do what they've done over the past six months as special. “It motivates you to earn the right to get into this position and to keep working and take your chance,” says Harbert, who signed her first professional contract with Arsenal in January and made her debut for England Under-23s last month.
Reflecting on the cruciate ligament injuries sustained by Agyemang and Reed, Harbert describes herself as “gutted”, saying: “This is the kind of news you never want anyone to receive, especially your closest friends. It's a worrying time for us players as the number of cruciate ligament injuries continues to rise. It's clear that something needs to change and more needs to be done to find solutions that will protect us. As soon as I get back to England, I will go there straight away to support them.”
Herbert was nine when she joined Arsenal's academy and two years later she was asked how she would feel about training in the boys' academy, which had by then become the norm at the club. She took the opportunity and trained with them, as well as the women's teams, into her teens. “It challenges the little details,” says Harbert. “Boys are naturally faster and stronger, so it's about how I can use my technical ability to avoid getting into some duels that maybe I would have been embarrassed in. They play a little faster too, so you learn to move the ball better at high speeds. How much that has improved is something I really realized when I got back into the girls environment.”
The midfielder's family made sacrifices so she could pursue a career in football, including moving from south London to Hertfordshire so she could be closer to Arsenal's training ground. The idea was that fewer long trips would improve her performance. For Harbert, it demonstrated the family's “commitment to me, a 10-year-old with a vision.”
Harbert was on the bench for Thorns' dramatic overtime win over the San Diego Wave on Sunday to set up Saturday's NWSL playoff semifinal against the Washington Spirit, who finished four points above them in the regular season. Her loan will end when Portland finishes the playoffs, which they hope will end with a win in the finals on November 22.
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After this, who knows? Arsenal are waiting until the play-offs are over before speaking to Harbert about the next stage of her development. And the process could be a long one, as teenagers have fewer and fewer opportunities to break into the first team in the increasingly professional WSL. “There’s no point in shying away from the fact that the average age in the WSL is around 25-26,” says Harbert. “At 18, you sit there and think, 'When will this be possible for me?' The main thing at my age is just getting exposure to senior minutes and getting that senior exposure under my belt.
“If it's not at my parent club, then they have a plan for me that's not just about these loans; it's a long-term plan that I've agreed to and so have they. That's been the most important thing for me all along, understanding that there's a bigger picture and all these loans are being done with the aim of me eventually coming back to Arsenal and then hopefully challenging for a start.”
“Sometimes I tend to get so caught up in the outcome and the idea I have in my head of where I want to be. It can make you forget about what's really important, which is having fun with it. So it's about refining what success means to me, day by day and month by month, working on what I can control, doing whatever I can to become the best version of myself to see where it takes me in the future, and enjoying it from there.” paths.”
