Speaking exclusively to Snack Media, Women's Super League star Vivianne Miedema has opened up on the players that inspire her, and how that's influenced her approach to football.The Arsenal striker has enjoyed a stellar career already, surpassing Manon Melis' tally of 59 goals back in June to become the Netherlands' all-time top scorer - both in men's and women's football respectively.Journalist David Winner remarked that the 23-year-old is a "combination of Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp", although Miedema herself played down those comparisons.

She said: "Very hard to say directly with them, because I've not really seen them play that much, because I'm obviously quite young still! I think it's really hard for me to say how I would describe myself as a football player. I always like to say that I like being an example for the younger girls. I love that when I go out to Holland, I see young girls playing on the pitch that say 'Oh I want to play like Miedema'. That's kind of the way I want to play football.

"Obviously I love (Lionel) Messi, I loved (Robin) Van Persie when I was younger. I like players that are naturally talented, and I think that's influenced me throughout my whole career. Those kinds of players I've always been looking up to, and I've always been trying to get the best things out of their game and into my game."

It's quite remarkable how much Miedema has achieved in such a short amount of time in her professional career. The Dutch forward won the PFA Player of the Year award last season, a campaign which saw her net 22 goals in just 20 Women's Super League games.

And if you thought that was outstanding, then the 23-year-old's incredible individual performance against Bristol City certainly takes the cake. In a 11-1 thrashing back in December, Miedema netted six goals and provided a further four assists. Her direct involvement in ten of the strikes doubled that of the previous WSL record of five - a number that was also set by the Gunners striker.

The sky really is the limit to what she can go on to achieve, but having name-checked Messi as someone she loves to watch, you wouldn't put it past her from going close to matching the Argentine's phenomenal goal-scoring success.

Voting for the WSL PFA Bristol Street Motors Player of the Month is now open. For the chance to present your favourite player with their award, click here.

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