WSL record goalscorer Vivianne Miedema announces she will leave Arsenal

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND – MARCH 31: Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema of Arsenal celebrate victory at … (+) The FA Women’s Continental Tires League Cup final match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Molineux on March 31, 2024 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

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Barclays Women’s Super League all-time top scorer Vivianne Miedema has announced she will leave Arsenal after seven years at the club.

Saturday’s home game against Brighton and Hove Albion will be the Dutch striker’s final opportunity to play for the club. Today she confirmed she will leave Arsenal when her contract expires this summer. Any club that benefits from his services for next season will do so without having to pay a transfer fee.

The 27-year-old joined Arsenal in May 2017 from FC Bayern ahead of this summer’s UEFA Women’s Euros, in which her four goals played a major role in the Netherlands’ victory in their opening major tournament in women’s football. Arsenal head coach Pedro Martínez Losa described her as “one of the best young strikers in the world”.

In October, Miedema scored his first goal against Everton and finished the season by scoring the winner against Manchester City in the Continental Cup final. However, it was during its second season that it reached unprecedented heights. As Arsenal won the Barclays Women’s Super League title, winning 18 of their 20 matches, Miedema scored what remains a record 22 league goals in those 20 matches.

BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND – MAY 11: Vivianne Miedema of Arsenal with the WSL Trophy after the match … (+) between Arsenal Women and Manchester City Women at Meadow Park on May 11, 2019 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

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Yet, incredibly, this was to be the last trophy-winning team that Miedema would play for. His time at the club would be marked by a series of near misses, being runner-up in the championship in 2021/22 and twice losing finalist in the FA Cup (2018 and 2021) and Continental Cup (2019 and 2020).

When his contract at Arsenal was due to expire in the summer of 2022, Miedema was heavily linked with a move to FC Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain which, by his own admission, would have brought him much more in salary.

Ultimately, she decided to stay, re-signing for the club and admitting that “I feel like winning titles with Arsenal will mean a lot more to me than winning them with any other club right now.” moment. And that’s of course what I hope to achieve with Arsenal.”

Nonetheless, speaking to the Guardian at the time, Miedema made no attempt to hide his ambition. “I told Arsenal that we need to develop further and really win titles. Otherwise I will have to take the next step.”

Although Arsenal won the Continental Cup finals successively in 2023 and 2024, injuries would mean Miedema would play no part in the final. A ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in December 2022 ruled her out of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and ten months in total.

LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 15: Vivianne Miedema of Arsenal injured on the pitch during UEFA … (+) Women’s Champions League Group C match between Arsenal and Olympique Lyon at Emirates Stadium on December 15, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

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She came back to score a superb goal at Liverpool, but it was her only one in the league this season. After the Netherlands’ defeat in the UEFA Women’s Nations League final in February ended Miedema’s hopes of competing at the Paris Olympics, she revealed she would need another knee operation from which she has just returned.

Individually, Miedema has set record after record in the Women’s Super League. During her fourth season, she became the first woman to score 50 goals in the competition in her 50th match, a 6–1 victory over local rivals Tottenham Hotspur. She won the Golden Boot as the Women’s Super League top scorer in successive seasons and in 2021 she was voted BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year.

In 172 appearances for the club, Miedema has been involved in 175 goals (125 scored, 50 assists). Her goal appearances in the Women’s Super League are also an all-time record. She scored 79 goals in 101 league matches for Arsenal.

Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar paid a fitting tribute to Miedema. “On behalf of everyone at the club, we thank Viv for her enormous contribution to the team’s success during her seven years with us.”

“Viv’s goals and overall performances as an Arsenal player have been of the highest quality, and she has created so many wonderful memories for us over the years. We wish Viv and her family the best of health and the best happiness for the future.”

Director of Women’s Football, Clare Wheatley, added that “since joining us in 2017, Viv has taken a special place in the hearts of our supporters, who I am sure will have many fond memories of his time at Arsenal. Viv leaves with our best. wishes for the future after seven memorable years here.