Vivianne Miedema has spoken about setting an example as a female footballer now that the sport is getting more coverage.
After Euro 2017, women’s football appears to be gaining a wider audience and 21-year-old Miedema is keen to set an example to the next generation and become a positive role model for all.
“No one really knew what was going on in women’s football,” she told the Guardian.
“Now you see young girls buying your T-shirts and that’s really nice. It’s a big step. It is weird. Instead of Arjen Robben, they have Miedema or [Lieke] Martens on the back of their jersey.
“It’s exploded since the Euros. Going on the street, everyone recognises you. Mostly I used to get stopped by real football fans but now it might be an old grandma who just watched the final.
“We need to set the standard. The younger girls are going to have a better time because of what we do now. Football is so big.”
Miedema only signed for Arsenal in May but already she’s impressing. She scored four goals in six appearances for the Netherlands during Euro 2017, including two in the final, which her country won. She’s scored 47 goals in 59 caps overall.
The forward, who’s been compared to Arjen Robben, has also scored twice for the Gunners in the FA WSL and is hugely entertaining to watch.
Not only has the Dutch international impressed on the pitch, she’s been inspirational off it. Despite being just 21, she’s proven that she has her head screwed on when speaking about equal pay.
Miedema understandably wants the Netherlands’ women’s national team to get the same as the men because they work just as hard and are actually performing far better now that the men’s side have failed to qualifying for the World Cup next year.
In my eyes, she’s already a superb role model.