Arsenal Women return to Women's Super League action following the festive break when they make the trip to Aston Villa on Saturday at 12.30pm.

The Gunners will be hoping to continue their rich vein of form which sees them currently sit second in the league.

Defender and Austrian captain Viktoria Schnaderbeck celebrated her 30th birthday this week

Looking back at some of her highlights so far at the Gunners some of highlights include winning the title in her debut season as the Gunners conceded 13 goals that season the least in the division.

Debut season

Arsenal won the Women's Super League title in her debut season in 2018/19 as Schnaderbeck helped the Gunners leak the fewest goals in the division.

Although she only started one game that season - featuring in five games in total - Schnaderbeck was still a key player that campaign at the back.

One thing about the captain of Austria is she just doesn't just bring quality but she brings experience and leadership to the squad - and that certainly helped Joe Montemurro's side on several occasions in the title winning campaign. That season she played 979 minutes and as well as helping out defensively was also a threat going forward as she created 8 clear cut chances for her teammates.

The reason she didn't play more of that successful campaign was due to her tearing knee ligaments in the last pre-season friendly of that summer but still made an impact in helping deliver the Gunners the title.

Reading away in 2019/20

Kim Little and Vivianne Miedema may have stolen the headlines with the goals but when Arsenal won away at Reading in December 2019, Schnaderbeck was just as important.

Deployed on the left side of defence Schnaderbeck was a key element to the match tactic for Montemurro.

Reading could have looked upon Schnaderbeck as an area to exploit as she was playing in an unfamiliar postion but this allowed Arsenal to exploit the other side of the pitch as Reading were trying to put heavy pressure on Schnaderbeck's side.

This allowed Kim Little and Beth Mead to do damage on the other side and cause the Royals plenty of problems while when called upon Schnaderbeck held firm as Reading tried to attack down her side on a number of occasions.

The now 30-year-old is adaptable and can play anywhere across the back four or even as a centre defensive midfielder, always giving the Gunners boss an extra option.

Everton away 2019/20

Arsenal won the game 3-1 with goals from Kim Little and a brace from Vivianne Miedema but Schnaderbeck stood out once again in this fixture for the Gunners.

Schnaderbeck has the ability to carry the ball forward very well and in this meeting on Merseyside her ability to do that was a huge factor behind the positive result.

Everton had players able to exploit the space behind Arsenal, such as Chloe Kelly and Inessa Kaagman, but as well as creating a presence going forward, Schnaderbeck went about her defensive duties well.

Her progressive passing caused Everton all sorts of problems as that forced the Toffees to leave plenty of gaps in the middle.

North London derby 2020/21

Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur 6-1 in the Women's Super League earlier this season and once again Schnaderbeck was a key player in the game but never really got that much credit.

Again, Schnaderbeck's ability to carry the ball forward caused problems for Spurs down the sides, as she allowed Arsenal to hit their rivals on the overload with Malin Gut and Beth Mead helping her out on the left, dragging the Spurs defence out of position.

She also found gaps in the Tottenham Hotspur midfield as she is so good on the ball and picking her passes. That allowed the more attacking players to pick the passes up and hit Spurs quickly on the attack.

New contract

Arsenal fans got an early boost in June when Schnaderbeck signed a new contract at the club.

There was speculation she could be on her way out of the club but she decided to stay put at Meadow Park.

This season she played six matches in the Women's Super League before picking up an unfortunate injury against Manchester United.

Schnaderbeck is a key component to the Arsenal cog and there is still plenty to come during her time in the Red and White of the north Londoners.