Arsenal striker Caitlin Foord has expressed her excitement about getting back into action in the UEFA Women’s Champions League next month.

Foord had only played two matches for the Gunners when the 2019-20 season came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But she said: “I’m really excited to get back playing football. My start with the club was very short with how this year has turned out with the Coronavirus crisis.

“I was loving each and every day a little more, so I’m just keen to get back and pick up where I left off and be involved in playing my part in the team.”

Speaking about her Gunners debut against Lewes, in which she scored in a 2-0 FA Cup win, Foord added: “I was just relieved and happy that I scored and we won, I just wanted to do the best I could for the team in that game, but obviously to score is always a nice feeling especially in your first game.”

Foord is already a fans favourite with the Arsenal faithful and has kept them entertained on social media sensation TikTok over the lockdown period.

Looking ahead to the 2020-21 season, the Australian international is in optimistic mood, adding: “My hopes for next season are to grow as a player, I’m still learning and trying to get better.

“Being surrounded by so many incredible players I feel I can learn a lot from them, but in saying that obviously I want to be the best I can be for the team and do my job which is to assist and score goals.”

Foord has also played in America, as well as Australia, so when asked what differences in the style of football she’s experienced in England so far, she said: “Honestly, I haven’t had long enough to be able to compare. I had two weeks, so this is also something I am looking forward to finding out.”

Australia and New Zealand were announced as the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup hosts last month and Foord is very excited about her home country staging it’s first major tournament.

“I’m extremely excited, to play in a World Cup is already a dream come true, but to have the chance to be able to potentially play in one on home soil in front of family, friends and fans to even wrap my head around that is overwhelming,” added the forward, who has 77 caps to date.

Foord outlined her hopes for the future with the Matildas, adding: “With the national team I want to win an Olympic medal and a World Cup, that’s what every player dreams about and I’m no different.”

Foord is also extremely decorated and was named as the best women’s young player at the 2014 World Cup.

Asked how her adventure into football started, the attacker said: “I started playing football in primary school at the age of nine, playing in the school playground at lunchtime with the boys.”

When it comes to pre-match superstitions, Foord said: “I wouldn’t say I do, but I do have a routine on gameday and there are a few things that I must do so maybe they are superstitions but I don’t see them like that.

“I can say when I have a good game, if I do something I wouldn’t normally do, I normally do it before the next one as well, but then that kind off fizzles out then the cycle almost starts again.”

The Gunners star is one of the finest players not only in the Women’s Super League but in the world and speaking about what she thought her main strengths are, she said: “I would say my main strength is dribbling and attacking players 1-v-1.”

Foord has played against some of the top talent in the world, but when asked to pick out her toughest opponent, the Australian added: “That’s a hard one, I feel like there are so many good players I’ve played against but I always think playing against your teammates is the hardest.

“They know you better than your opponents do because you’re training together day in and day out. So it’s always difficult when you come up against them in training or in national team games.”

Many footballers have players who have inspired them within the game, but Foord has a different story.

“I didn’t really have anyone to inspire me, I didn’t grow up in a football family or grow up watching the game, I just started playing because I was very active and wanted to do every sport possible,” she said.

“So it wasn’t that I was inspired by anyone, I just loved playing football.”