Katie McCabe is playing a new role for Arsenal, but she won’t stop bringing trademark aggression and physicality to her performances, no matter what people say online.

Katie McCabe has been away with Ireland on international duty over the break, but she’s back with Arsenal now ahead of the north London derby this weekend.

Arsenal will host Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with tickets fast selling out and more than 58,000 sold already.

Whether McCabe will be available for the derby is unclear, with Arsenal still assessing her fitness following her early substitution with Ireland on Tuesday.

But speaking to Daily Cannon, McCabe seems delighted that the team will be returning to a packed Emirates this weekend.

“We’re seeing the rewards of what the club have done the last few years in terms of putting these foundations in and really looking to push the women’s side of the club, and giving us the opportunity to play at the Emirates,” McCabe says.

“We’re not just made to stay at Borehamwood, we’ve been given a platform now and the fans are delivering, they’re coming and supporting us.”

If McCabe is available to face Spurs on Sunday, the full-back could be set to continue her run of games playing at right-back, despite generally featuring on the left in previous seasons.

McCabe admits that her preferred position “would be on the left side somewhere”, depending on the formation, but she’s liking her time out on the right as well.

“I actually quite enjoy it,” McCabe insists. “I kind of take each position as like a new challenge and for me going into those games I know I need to be 100% concentrated and 100% on it.

“I like the challenge of it, I like the trust I have in my teammates and my manager to switch up positions if I have to.

“It’s been enjoyable coming inside a lot on my left foot, and the relationship with Beth [Mead] on the right-hand side.

“We’ve played with each other for eight or seven years now so we know each other and we know each other’s strengths so yeah, it’s been really enjoyable.”

When it comes to her fitness, McCabe is very willing to get herself involved in the process, on and off the training pitches.

The 28-year-old admits she can get quite competitive when it comes to assessing the GPS data provided by Arsenal’s partner STATSports.

“We wear the [GPS] pods as players in games, and in training,” McCabe explains. “I guess it’s up to each individual player how interested they are in the details.

“For me, personally, from where I play and what position I’m in, high-speed running is a really important metric and something I keep an eye on in my training, making sure I hit my targets in training.

“It’s definitely individual as to how much players like to get into things but I guess when it comes to pre-season and we’ve got some sprint races it definitely gets competitive and you’re racing over to the iPad to see who’s quickest and stuff.”

That competitive spirit definitely translates onto the pitch for Arsenal, with the six bookings McCabe has received in 13 WSL games this campaign second only to Hawa Cissoko’s seven for West Ham.

“I’m very proud as to how I play, I play with my heart on my sleeve and I’ll always fight 100% for the team,” McCabe says.

“Whatever referee is refereeing the game that day, it’s up to their interpretation of what they deem acceptable and unacceptable.

“It’s been shown maybe in a few games I’ve disagreed with some of them but that’s me, I’m an aggressive player. I’m physical.

“Sometimes maybe people can interpret aggression as a bad thing but I love to bring the energy to my team. I guess yellow cards are a part of the game as well, so you need to take them on the chin.”

When it comes to the social media response to McCabe’s yellow-card record, whether it’s light-hearted jokes or angry criticism, the Ireland international explains that she wouldn’t see it anyway.

“I try to stay off socials for that, I don’t really engage with any of that. I’m not big on socials.

“Obviously I’m on it, but in terms of what people say, whether it’s good or bad, I don’t really take any notice. I don’t know these people, at the end of the day. So I take it with a pinch of salt.”

McCabe instead gets her motivation from the fans supporting her on each matchday.

“As a player, it’s so special to call the Emirates our home and walk out each week in front of so many people coming to support us.

“It spurs you on in terms of wanting to make sure we’re getting the results for the fans as well. They definitely carry us through games and give us that energy.”

The fans will hope they can help push the team to another Emirates victory on Sunday.

Katie McCabe is an ambassador and investor for the world’s leading GPS performance tracker, STATSports.