Watford FC Women Head Coach Damon Lathrope only had kind words to say about Arsenal when I spoke to him on Wednesday morning, with the Women’s FA Cup meeting between the two sides looming.

Lathrope described the relationship between Women’s Championship side Watford and Arsenal as “gold dust” for his side.

“And we make sure that Arsenal know that,” he told the Gooner Fanzine.

“One thing we back ourselves on is that any player that comes to us will get a good experience. Yes, we're a part-time team but we don't operate like a part-time team. We're very professional in the way we work. We really try and help them on the pitch by coaching them properly and I think Arsenal acknowledge that and they recognise that their players get a really good experience with us and they get looked after properly, which means they're probably more willing to send their best talent to us, which is absolute gold dust for us. 

“I’m not afraid to say that even at the tender age of 16s and 17s, they're still probably some of our better players. And they really help us and Arsenal know that we can really help them along their journey in giving them first team exposure; giving them exposure to pressure environments, playing in front of fans, playing with people for whom that is their livelihood. It aids both clubs massively.”

One player who had caught the eye of Arsenal fans even before her loan move to Watford at the age of 17 was Michelle Agyemang, who scored her first goal for the Gunners in January 2022, in the FA Cup against Leeds United. 

Lathrope revealed that Watford faced strong competition to sign Agyemang on loan in the summer, but the relationship with Arsenal helped bring her to the Golden Girls. However, her introduction as a Watford player lasted only 20 minutes before being forced off injured on debut.

“We've literally only seen her for two games since then, which has been an absolute killer for us,” said Lathrope.

“In her first game back she scores in the FA Cup, in her second game back she scores two and assists one. So that shows you the impact that she has when she plays for us and it shows you how much we've missed her in those four or five months that she was out injured. So we're really excited for the second half of the season because we know the impact that she can have if we get a fit healthy Miche, because she is an absolute super talent. She's physically on a different planet, to be honest, and she ticks a lot of boxes for me. She's technically very efficient. She's a very good finisher, really powerful, quick, mobile. 

“Exposing her to his first team football where she might get beaten up a little bit, she might find the dark arts of the game, defenders trying to make it really hard for her which she probably wouldn't get exposed to in academy football playing for Arsenal Under-21s. So the experiences that she will pick up, and the little parts of the game that you can't necessarily teach the players- they have to go through the experiences to learn them. She'll be getting a massive benefit from that hopefully for the second half of the season when we see her on a pitch.”

Laila Harbert turned 17 on Wednesday, and has already played a key role for Watford this season, including netting a hat-trick in their FA Cup Third Round tie, being named Player of the Round. Lathrope labelled her “an exceptional talent.”

“I think if she keeps her feet on the ground, which I'm sure she will because she's a great girl, a really good professional who does everything properly. I think she could go to wherever she wants to in the game. If I had to liken her to a player in the men's game, I'd say sort of like a little Xavi or Iniesta- technically superb, really efficient taking the ball. She's a good athlete,” said the Head Coach, who took charge of the Golden Girls in the summer of 2022.

“There's areas of her game that she needs work, which will inevitably get better with the exposure to first team football, but I'm not surprised to see her scoring the goals. It's almost like weighing up with Laila what is her best position because she's very creative. And you want her for that creative spark into slightly higher areas of pitch, but then she's really good at getting the play started for us, and really comfortable taking the ball in tight areas. So we're trying to expose her to a bit of both. She proved that when she plays higher she can assist and score goals like she did in the FA Cup, and could have had a couple again in the London City game just gone. But also likewise she's one of the best we've got at taking the ball and starting the attack for us, which is really key. So like I say with a bit of help and with a bit of time, I'm very, very confident that Laila will have a really successful long career in the game.”

With Arsenal’s midfield ranks extending from the experience and class of Lia Wali and Kim Little, through to talented young players like Kyra Cooney-Cross and Victoria Pelova, could Harbert eventually break through as a first team player?

“I wouldn't be surprised if Laila for instance, in eighteen months is competing for a first team spot with those names that you've just mentioned at Arsenal that are household names, that are world class talents,” replied Lathrope.

“The exposure, the coaching, the experiences that these super talented young players are getting at such an early age means that they're ready earlier for their first teams, and I would fully expect Laila to be competing with those names in 18 months time.”

Lathrope discussed how communication between Watford and Arsenal plays out during the loan spells of players at Grosvenor Vale: “We mainly deal with James Honeyman, who's the academy manager, because those players as much as they're with the first team, they still come under the academy until they transition over into professional contracts and things like that.

“But we do have communication with the first team staff a lot around their data and what they're doing. Because they still train with Arsenal, we’re making sure that we're looking after the players properly, i.e. not doing too much with them, making sure that their load is correct and that we've given them the best chance, one to perform for us, and two to avoid injury which is really key. Like I say they're all really good at Arsenal. All the performance staff, the first team coaching staff and then the academy management, Elliot Allum and James Honeyman have been brilliant with us.”

The third member of the Arsenal Academy trio who joined Watford on loan in the summer is defender Katie Reid, “an absolute top talent in the country” in Lathrope’s words. 

“She obviously plays up age groups, as do Michelle and Laila, for England. They’re identified as really, really high potential players for their country, and we're really really fortunate to have Katie. If anything it’s probably the toughest one, Katie, because she's coming in as a centre-half at 16/17 years old, and it's probably harder to come in as a defensive minded player at a young age than it is as an attacking or midfield player. Due to the physicality and due to mistakes probably hurting us a little bit more in that end of the pitch than the top end. 

“But I can't commend the work that she's done so far this season any higher. She’s shown so much courage and bravery for such a young player, and it's gotten to the point where we're reliant on her. I'm very honest with the girls because I want to help them and the way we want to play falls perfectly into Katie's strengths. We know where she needs to work, she knows where she needs to work and improve to give ourselves the best chance of maximising her potential. Honestly it amazes me how developed and applied these players are for such young players. Again, I would not be surprised to see her go all the way in the game.”

One player who had spent time on dual registration with Watford before returning to Arsenal is Teyah Goldie. The 19-year-old ruptured her ACL in March 2022, and then suffered a similar injury in August 2023, this time in her right leg, and is enduring another lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Lathrope told the Gooner Fanzine: “I actually tried to get her at the start of the season prior to her injury and I think it would have been a big ask because she was maybe a little bit further on in our journey than to come back to a part-time team and exposure to Championship football. She had done that a year or a year and a half before that and at that time looked about the level if I'm being honest.

“We’ve got a really good relationship with Teyah. She's a part of us without being a part of us if you like! She comes to pre-season games, she's on the bench for us. She's got a really good relationship with loads of the players and the staff. She's almost like a bit of a fan of Watford whilst playing for Arsenal which is lovely because she's been there and she's sampled the environment. But again, she's had a really tough time with injuries, but I know that her mentality is top, top level. It matches her ability, her mentality, and that allowed her in good stead to give her the best chance of coming back and doing what we all know that she can. I'm very confident that she's good enough to get into that Arsenal first team and really push and compete.

"I think had she had not had the setback she would have probably been right in the mix right now if I'm being honest. As we all know, me more than anyone, these challenges in your career come around and how you deal with them defines what you do next normally. She's at a great club. Arsenal will look after her, give her the absolute best chance of coming back, maximising her potential. Like I say, I know she's got the ability and now she's got the mentality. So I'm very confident that she will come back and show everyone what she's made of.”