The Women’s Super League’s all-time top scorer Vivianne Miedema will leave Arsenal at the end of the 2023-24 season.
The 27-year-old is a two-time WSL Golden Boot winner and has scored 79 league goals across seven seasons at the club.
Miedema’s Arsenal future had been the source of speculation before she signed a new deal in May 2022 but she will now exit the club at the end of the campaign following the expiration of her contract.
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Arsenal sporting director Edu said: “On behalf of everyone at the club, we thank Viv for her huge contribution towards the success of the team 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 happiness for the future.”
Thank you, Arsenal ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6N9NtN8xUT
— Vivianne Miedema (@VivianneMiedema) May 13, 2024
Miedema joined Arsenal from Bayern Munich in 2017 and has provided 125 goals and 50 assists in her 172 appearances for the club.
She finished as the WSL’s top scorer during the 2018-19 season as Arsenal won the league title for the first time in seven years. The Netherlands forward won a second successive Golden Boot in the 2019-20 season, and also helped secure three Continental Cup successes during her time at the club.
Miedema has set a number of goalscoring records in her seven seasons in England, with her six goals against Bristol City in 2019 the most scored by an individual player in a single match, and in March 2022 she became the first player in the league’s history to reach 100 goal involvements.
However, the forward’s final two seasons at Arsenal have been disrupted by injury after she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in December 2022, ruling her out for the remainder of the campaign.
Miedema has made eight WSL appearances this term after returning to action in October, but has featured just once since the victory over Manchester United on February 17 after undergoing minor knee surgery.
Miedema wrote on social media: “A journey like this is never straightforward. We’ve shared so many amazing moments over the years, but sadly enough tough times are part of football and life too. In these tough times we realise what we are made of, but also who we need around us. And that’s where this team has been extra special to me.
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“Rupturing my ACL has been one of the toughest things l’ve had to go through in my career but having the support of my teammates has helped me stay motivated and to be able to share my comeback together was something I’ll always remember.
“For now it’s time to move on. My time at Arsenal will be forever with me and I’m grateful for all the special memories.”
Arsenal’s director of women’s football Clare Wheatley added: “Since joining us in 2017, Viv has taken on a special place in the hearts of our supporters, who I’m sure will have many fond memories of her time at Arsenal. Viv leaves with our best wishes for the future after seven memorable years here.”
‘End of an era’
Analysis by Art de Roche
Miedema’s departure will not come as a complete shock, but it marks the end of an exceptional era at Arsenal.
While her goals — and the records she both broke and set — will be what most remember, the style she did it in was equally as important.
Even in her golden boot-winning campaign of 2018-19, when Arsenal last won the WSL, her creativity and movement set her apart from almost every player in the league.
It is fitting that Miedema idolized Dennis Bergkamp and Robin van Persie as a child, as she followed their footsteps in becoming another Dutch forward to consistently take Arsenal fans’ breath away.
Unfortunately, the latter part of her seven years at the club were marred by injuries, but the 27-year-old will be remembered for the quality she produced on the pitch – as well as her quirky personality off it.
A true superstar of the game, Arsenal and everyone involved with the club will be grateful for the time they got to watch Miedema in a red and white shirt.
GO DEEPER
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(Top photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)