Holmberg is settling nicely into life in the capital, but the proud Swede is also happy to discuss life at home in Södermalm, bunking with an Arsenal legend and ABBA voyage.
Smllia Holmberg sits patiently in Arsenal’s training dome at London Colney, and calmly explains how she has settled into life in London, “It’s very different” Holmberg says, shutting out the noise around her with the dome abuzz with activity. “Before January I was living at home, so I had my friends around, I had my family around. I had the football pitch five minutes from where I lived, the football pitch [Kanalplan] I almost grew up on. I played in the same team, Hammarby, my whole life before this and had my school around the corner, so I was just enjoying life as a kid and playing football.”
At the mention of Hammarby, I volunteer a tentative ‘Go Bajen’ the nickname of her hometown club. A broad smile draws across the Swede’s face, “yes, exactly” she replies with a warm fondness for her hometown club apparent. “Yeah. I come from [a place in] Stockholm, it's called Södermalm,” Holmberg explains. “It has a special place in my heart. So now, when I had a vacation, it was just nice to be there, [to] be with everyone, and yeah, feel that safety.”
Holmberg was a huge success in her time in Sweden with Hammarby winning the title and two domestic cups.
In her final season in Scandinavia she made the most successful dribbles of any player in the Damallsvenskan and had an impressive tally of ten goal involvements. Some of the greatest players in BWSL history have come from Sweden, Magdalena Eriksson, Kosovare Asllani and team-mate Stina Blackstenius to name just a few. It’s clear Holmberg has ambitions to be considered among that esteemed company, “I would say I've always wanted to play at the highest level and see how far I can go and how good I can be,” Holmberg affirms. “I felt like Arsenal was the right place for me and the right timing.
“I felt like I was ready to take the next step and to be in an environment where I'm being pushed to be at my very best every day. To be surrounded by world-class players, staff members [and] everyone around the club is what I always wanted. Arsenal is something special, the fans, the environment.”
The Arsenal faithful have already taken to Holmberg as one of their own, even just months into her Arsenal career. Asked to reflect on the best moment of her debut season: “It's hard to not say my debut” she states. “I think it was two weeks after I came here and to do it at Emirates against [Manchester] United.
“I've always said that I didn't have so much expectation coming here because I didn't know how I would react or how hard it would be because where I came from it was a safe place for me.
“I knew everything and how everything worked and coming here, I don't know how I would react to living by myself far from home and I couldn't ask for a better start than doing my debut two weeks after coming.”
For some players, moving away from home for the first time can be a real adjustment, but it’s proven to be the making of Holmberg, “Before this, I lived with my family,” Holmberg says. “I actually do enjoy being by myself so after this vacation [back home] I felt like it was nice to come back here and be by myself, and I was surprised by that because I wasn't used to being by myself.
“I think it [independence] gives you a confidence to know that you can live by yourself. I don't have my family next to me that can help me every day. So that gave me confidence since moving here, and also I like that there’s always things happening here in London. You never get bored.”
The defender, who turned 20 on Sunday, insists her family are never too far from her thoughts, “But then it's also still having that contact with family, FaceTiming them, that makes you feel like home as well.”
Holmberg has found a new family of sorts in Arsenal red and white. When asked whether her team-mates have helped her settle into life in London, Holmberg smiles, “Stina [Blackstenius] has been a huge, huge part of that in helping me with everything” Holmberg extolls. “And now she's actually living with me because her apartment or her house isn't ready yet, and she doesn’t know when she can move in.
“So now I give back a home for her this couple of weeks but yeah, it was a very open group, and it was easy for me to come in. I think that everyone here knows how it is to move from home and to come to a big club like this, so they were all amazing.” The Arsenal squad have helped Holmberg settle into life in North London in novel ways, “In this locker room,” she explains. “They're playing like different types of music, so it's ABBA sometimes, which is Swedish to make everyone feel [at] home.” So, onto the million pound question, has Smilla Holmberg been to ABBA Voyage yet? “Not yet, actually” Holmberg says. “Leah [Williamson] said that, ‘Yeah, you have to go there’ I'm not a really big fan of ABBA actually, so I like them, but I'm not a huge fan. But maybe that's something to experience, so maybe with my family, maybe I have to try it.”
Sweden is a nation that has a proud and rich culinary tradition, as to whether Holmberg has introduced any of that tradition to her team-mates? “Oh, I haven't brought so much food yet,” Holmberg admits. “Actually, I think I will do it this season because I miss some of the Swedish bread and some of the Swedish sweets and meatballs and so on.
“We have eaten the Swedish meatballs here for lunch, so I think they [my team-mates] actually like it. But maybe I should bring some Swedish sweets as well because we have very good sweets. I would say the candy in Sweden is unreal, to be honest.”
For some, English culture can be a shock, the language, the food or more commonly the weather. When asked if she had been struck by anything since arriving in England Holmberg considers her answer for a moment, “I don't think I've experienced the English culture that much” Holmberg articulates. “But maybe the English football culture. How passionate everyone is about football here.
