Arsenal confirm Beth Mead will leave club as a free agent this summer

At Arsenal, Mead established herself as one of the country’s best wingers and was integral to England’s 2022 European Championship triumph as she was named UEFA’s Player of the Tournament and the Golden Boot winner. Her displays also saw her named BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year, England’s Player of the Year and BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2022.

An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury sustained in November 2022 ruled her out of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, but Mead returned to fitness in time to play an important part in Arsenal’s 1-0 Champions League final victory over Barcelona the following season as she delivered the pass that set up Stina Blackstenius’ match-winning goal. That summer, she helped England defend their European Championship title.

This season, Mead played an integral role in Arsenal’s push to the Champions League semi-finals and also helped them qualify for Europe, despite some questions surrounding her playing time after the club’s record-breaking £1million signing of Canada winger Olivia Smith last summer. She has provided two goals and five assists in the Women’s Super League and three goals and three assists in the Champions League.

Mead returned to the Arsenal team against Brighton & Hove Albion on May 6 following a period away for personal reasons. Her partner Vivianne Miedema, who plays for City and has also been absent during the time, announced after City lifted the title that her absence was due to her mother experiencing serious complications after undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer.

On Mead’s departure, director of Women’s Football, Clare Wheatley, said: “Beth has made a huge contribution to our football club over nine years, and will go down in history as one of our best forwards and a legend of the club.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Arsenal, Women's Soccer

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