Photo: Bryn Holmes / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Isabella Damm has completed her move to Arsenal, signing with the club after leaving Danish side Brøndby. The goalkeeper described the transfer as the right step at the right moment in her career.
"It feels amazing. It has been a long process, but I can't wait to get started. I think it was the right timing because I was there in my career where I had to move on from Brondby and the club has such a big culture," Damm said in her first interview at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.
Damm will join an established goalkeeping group at Arsenal that includes Dutch international Daphne van Domselaar and Anneke Borbe. She said she is looking forward to learning from both players on and off the pitch.
"I'm just excited to learn from them on the pitch and off the pitch. The group sounds amazing and on social media I can follow everything. They seem great and I have trained with them sometimes," she added.
The Danish goalkeeper cited compatriots Pernille Harder and the recently retired Nanna Christiansen as her main footballing idols growing up, alongside van Domselaar and former Arsenal keeper Ann-Katrin Berger.
Damm credited Brøndby with a significant role in her development. "I have learned a lot and I can't thank them enough for what I've become. They have trusted me a lot and I think that's the biggest thing I can say."
Her immediate goal at her new club is clear. "I hope to be the first-team goalkeeper in this club and just to become the player I want to be," she said.