Arsenal’s forward and captain of Ireland, Katie McCabe, insists that the team are not distracted by off-field issues despite not being paid for a training game held four weeks ago.

Almost a year on from a threatened strike by the squad led by former Arsenal goalkeeper Emma Byrne, McCabe admitted that there was a ‘situation’ last week. McCabe was made captain of her country after Byrne retired last summer after 21 years at the top.

“I was aware of the whole situation and, as captain, spoke to all the players before coming back to Colin,” said McCabe.

“I was asked to comment on it before a statement was put out and chose not to. Like all relationships, this one (with the FAI) is growing.

irish independent katie mccabe 4 april 2018
Irish Independent 4 April 2018

“The whole strike last year was to put a stance down and look at the results we’ve had since.”

The 22-year-old was heavily rumoured to be on her way to Liverpool this summer, a story confirmed to us by two different sources.

She was expected to replace Natasha Harding who left for Reading.

Quite what happened with that move and why it broke down remains a mystery, but it appears as if the arrival of Joe Montemurro played a massive role in integrating a player Pedro Losa seemed to have no interest in.

McCabe started her career at St Francis L.F.C. in Dublin, where she was born, before joining Raheny United in 2011 at the age of 16.

While at the Raheny, the forward featured in their first ever season as part of the Women’s National League (WNL), which was formed the year she joined. McCabe went on to win two league titles in 2012/13 and 2013/14, as well as the FAI Women’s Cup three times and WNL Cup once.

During the 2014/15 season, the Republic of Ireland youth international netted an impressive 23 goals.

McCabe stayed with the club during their transition to Shelbourne Ladies F.C. in 2015/16. However, in December 2015, she signed for Arsenal, allegedly rejecting offers from the likes of high-fliers Chelsea and Manchester City.

In August 2017, the 22-year-old joined Glasgow City on loan for the second half of their Scottish Women’s Premier League season.

Glasgow City went on to be crowned 2017 SWPL 1 champions – their 12th title.

The Republic of Ireland international also represented her country at an u17 and u19 level. She’s now been capped six times for the senior side after getting her first call-up in March 2015, shortly before her move to London.

In November, McCabe was voted PFA Ireland International Women’s Player of the Year after helping Ireland win their first two games of their 2019 World Cup qualifying campaign against Northern Ireland and Slovakia.