Kim Little

Kim Alison Little (born 29 June 1990) is a Scottish female international football midfielder. She plays her club football for  FA WSL club  Arsenal Ladies and has represented  Scotlandat senior international level. She was born in  Aberdeen,  Scotland. Little was one of two Scots selected in the  Great Britain squad for the  2012 London Olympics.

==Club career [edit] == Little began her career with Buchan Girls FC before moving onto Hibernian Ladies. She left to join Arsenal Ladies in March 2008 and scored her first goal for the club in April, in a 4–1 win over Chelsea before 5,000 fans at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal manager Vic Akers told reporters: "Make a note of this kid, she's going to be a big player." Little played in every league match during the 2008–09 season bar one, scoring 24 goals.

The following season Little's prolific goalscoring from midfield helped Arsenal overcome the departure of Kelly Smith. After 47 goals in all competitions, she was named Players' Player of the Year in June 2010.

At the 2011 FA Women's Cup Final, Little was named Player of the Match and scored the opening goal in Arsenal's 2–0 win over Bristol Academy. After the game Arsenal manager Laura Harvey described Little as "world class."

Little was voted women's player of the year for 2012–13 by the Professional Footballers' Association, in the first year that the award had been made. ==International career [edit] == ===Scotland [edit] === Little made her debut for the senior Scotland side in February 2007, against Japan as a second-half substitute for Megan Sneddon. She scored her first international goal as Scotland lost to Russia in March 2008.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">On the occasion of her 50th cap, Little scored one of the goals in Scotland's 2–0 victory against England in March 2011. It was only the second time Scotland had ever beaten their rivals, and the first time since 1977 – 13 years before Little was born. ===Great Britain Olympic <span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In contrast to Arsenal and Scotland teammate Julie Fleeting, Little was strongly in favour of participating in the Great Britain team at the 2012 London Olympics: "I don't see why anyone would want to stop a player from playing at a massive tournament like the Olympics, it's the biggest sporting event ever. If I get the opportunity I'll grab it with both hands – I would definitely play."

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Little was called up to the 18–player squad, one of only two non English players in Hope Powell's panel, the other being fellow Scot Ifeoma Dieke. Little chose not to sing the national anthem of the United Kingdom before the team's first competitive game, a 1–0 win against New Zealand. The Daily Mail newspaper claimed that the British Olympic Association were angered by this. Little provided two assists in the team's second match, a 3–0 win against Cameroon.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="line-height:1em;">[ ===International goals <span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">


 * Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.

==Playing style <span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;">[edit] == <p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Little typically plays as the advanced midfielder in Arsenal's 4–3–3 formation, but occupies a deeper role when playing for Scotland. In an interview with FIFA.com in July 2012, Little said: "Nearly all my goals come from midfield. That’s my natural position. But I’m a player who always tries to make forward runs, be positive and to create and score goals.