WSL Record Goalscorer Vivianne Miedema Announces She Will ...

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 31: Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema of Arsenal celebrate victory in ... [+] the FA Women's Continental Tyres 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)

The all-time record goalscorer in the Barclays Women's Super League, Vivianne Miedema has announced she will leave Arsenal after seven years at the club.

Saturday's home match against Brighton and Hove Albion will be the final opportunity for the Dutch striker to play for the club. Today she confirmed she will leave Arsenal upon the expiry of her contract in the summer. Any club securing her 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 that summer's UEFA Women's Euro, in which her four goals played a major part in the Netherlands winning their first major tournament in the women's game. Then Arsenal head coach, Pedro Martínez Losa, described her as "one of the best young strikers in the world."

In October, Miedema scored her first goal for against Everton and ended the season by scoring the winning goal against Manchester City in the Continental Cup final. However, it was during her second season that she hit unparalleled heights. As Arsenal stormed to the Barclays Women's Super League title, winning 18 of their 20 matches, Miedema scored what is still a record 22 league goals in those 20 games.

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)

Yet, incredibly that was to be the last trophy-winning side Miedema would play in. Her time at the club would be marked by a series of near misses, runners-up in the league in 2021/22 and twice a losing finalist in the FA Cup (2018 and 2021) and Continental Cup (2019 and 2020).

When her contract at Arsenal was due to expire in the summer of 2022, Miedema was heavily linked to a move to either FC Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain which by her own admission would have earned her much more in wages.

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 at the moment. And that is of course what I hope to achieve with Arsenal."

Nevertheless, speaking to The Guardian at the time, Miedema made no attempt to hide her ambition. "I said to Arsenal that we have to develop further and really have to win titles. If not, I’ll have to take another step."

Despite Arsenal winning successive Continental Cup finals in 2023 and 2024, injuries would mean Miedema would play no part in the finals. A rupture to her 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 the 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)

She returned to score a stunning goal at Liverpool but it has been her only one in the league this season. Following the Netherlands' defeat in the UEFA Women's Nations League finals in February, which ended Miedema's hopes of playing in the Paris Olympics, she revealed she would need another knee operation from which she has only 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 game, a 6-1 win over local rivals Tottenham Hotspur. She won the Golden Boot as the Women's Super League top scorer in successive seasons and in 2021 was voted the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year.

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

Arsenal Sporting Director Edu Gaspar paid Miedema a fitting tribute. "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."

Director of Women’s Football Clare Wheatley added that "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."