Kyra Cooney-Cross spoke to the media after Arsenal’s progression to the second round of qualifying in the UEFA Women’s Champions League following a 1-0 victory against Rosenborg BK. The win at Meadow Park already means the Gunners side have progressed further than they did during the 2023/24 European campaign.

When asked whether there was concern regarding the vastly different scoreline compared to Wednesday’s 6-0 win over Rangers, Cooney-Cross said ‘”No, we made it through“, the Australian midfielder continued, “The girls didn’t get a chance to make it last season and our aim was to make it through this season and we did that. I think we’ve been playing really well, obviously we didn’t score as much tonight but, it is what it is and we are through.”

Cooney-Cross’ first season at Arsenal may have seen a dip in her minutes compared to her time at Hammarby IF, and when asked about how comfortable she looked in the victory on Saturday evening, the Australian commented “Coming in last season, it was difficult, coming into a new team, new club. I understand know what Jonas [Eidevall] wants from me. Obviously, playing with the girls more [means] I’m a lot more comfortable. It’s easy coming on the pitch being comfortable with what I need to do.“

When asked if it feels like an opportunity has arisen for the midfielder amidst the sudden injuries in the Arsenal midfield, Cooney-Cross agreed, saying “It’s a big chance for me to show Jonas and the girls what I can do, and what I’m capable of. It’s sad Vic [Victoria Pelova] is out and Wally [Lia Wälti] has had a few niggles. But I definitely think it’s an opportunity for me, but I’ll always be there for the girls.“

The defensive side of Cooney-Cross’ role has been something that the midfielder has been progressively developing since joining Arsenal. When asked about her defensive development during her North London tenure, Cooney-Cross expressed ‘It was definitely one of my goals coming into this season. Jonas [Eidevall] and Wally [Lia Wälti] have been helping me. It’s been one of my focuses and it’s now something I understand what they want from me.“

Cooney-Cross also spoke on the passes she was creating from the central third, to which she commented “Playing as a 6, that’s kind of your role. You have to open up the play, kind of control it, slow it down, speed it up. Tonight’s game was an opportunity to give balls out to Caitlin [Foord] Foxy [Emily Fox], to open up the game.“

After last season’s heartbreak early-exit in the opening round of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, celebrations at full-time rocked the North Bank on Saturday evening, as the players danced along to the fan-made rendition of ‘Shake It Caldentey!’ Cooney-Cross commented on the feeling in the Gunners camp, expressing “It’s one of the things that’s helping me perform at the moment- enjoying it.”

She continued, “I love playing with these girls. It was a bit of a party down there at the end, Mariona’s [Caldentey] song is very good. A lot of the girls were saying they miss Cloé Lacasse’s song, we wish they still sang that one.”

When asked about the intensity of attacking play, Cooney-Cross said “It’s just apart of our game plan. You see Mariona and Frida [Leonhardsen-Maanum] combining together- that’s our aim. We want to put balls in, we want to combine, move the other team and create space in behind. Unfortunately we didn’t get those chances tonight. We made a lot of them and we should have finished them.”

The Australian also quickly commented if there was relief to be in the hat for round two- “Massively, yeah.“

After her long range goal in the friendly against Southampton, hitting the bar in quick succession with Alessia Russo summed up Arsenal’s evening at Meadow Park as chances didn’t seem to fall for the Gunners. Cooney-Cross joked “Yeah, I wish I had scored that one!“

Arsenal have now gained seeded position in the Round Two qualification for the draw on Monday at 12pm BST. With pending opposition either from Sweden, Italy, France and Portugal, the difficult only rises from here. But with qualification now needed to be gained over two legs, Arsenal will benefit from the elimination of the knockout format going forward.

And who knows, maybe Cooney-Cross will get her debut UEFA Women’s Champions League goal in true Kyra fashion.