Arsenal defender Catley signs new deal

Arsenal defender Catley signs new deal

Arsenal defender Steph Catley has signed a new contract with the club.

WSL Full-Time were informed of the news via an official club press release from The Gunners this morning.

The 32-year-old Australian international joined Arsenal from Ninja A-League club Melbourne City in summer 2020. She has gone on to make 165 appearances for the North Londoners in all competitions in which she has scored four goals.

In her time at Arsenal, Catley has won the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, the UEFA Women’s Champions League and two Subway Women’s League Cups.

After signing her new deal with Arsenal, Catley said “It feels amazing. There really is nowhere else that I would rather be and it’s always nice to have that faith from the coach and from the club. It was an absolute no-brainer.

“It’s been a journey of many, many ups and downs. When I first came to the club, I think my first training session I got injured and then that whole season I was pretty much out, dealing with different injuries and felt very, very far away from home. Completely new team, new country, everything.

“So that was a really tough time but as you sort of settle into it and as I sort of settled into the club, I realised very quickly this was exactly where I was supposed to be and I feel myself growing as a person, as a player. The friendships that I’ve made, it’s definitely more like a family and I’ve never felt as much at home anywhere in the world other than my home that I have here.

“That is one of the big sacrifices you make as an Australian footballer when you want to play overseas – that you are really, really far away and you can’t just drop home and hop in and see your family. So making those connections and feeling in your heart that you’re happy and you’re safe and the place that you’re at does feel like home is something very, very special and I think it’s rare in football.

“I don’t think many footballers can say that a club really does feel like home but for me that is definitely the case and I feel lucky to say that and I feel lucky to have the relationships that I do and the backing of the club as well to have me here.”