Islington-born Ellen Maggs had a short career with Arsenal but an incredibly storied one. The diminutive forward packed a lot into a career that started young but fizzled out by the time she was 23. Ellen has come full circle in a sense, having rekindled her association with Arsenal as a coach in the community in recent years.  

“I grew up in Highbury, Arsenal is my local team – there was no other team I could have supported.” Ellen beams. “I went to Canonbury Primary School in the 1990s and Arsenal used to come in and coach our PE sessions. That was where I was picked up and told I should be training with Vic Akers.

“There was a ball court at Highbury behind the Clock End where I spent most of my childhood – the best place ever! At the age of nine I started training there every Friday, there weren’t really any girls teams in the younger age groups at that time, so I just trained with the boys teams in the ball courts. I also played for a boys team locally.”

Maggs enjoys a strong relationship with Arsenal in the Community today as a coach and...