Dutch top scorer Miedema leaves Arsenal

This article was last updated on May 13, 2024

Canada: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

Dutch top scorer Miedema leaves Arsenal: ‘End of an incredible chapter’

Vivianne Miedema leaves Arsenal. The Dutch striker announced this via her club on social media.

“After seven special years it is time to end my time at Arsenal,” she said. “It was an absolute honor to represent a club with so much history and traditions. Thank you for a memorable chapter in my life.”

Miedema played 172 games in the Arsenal shirt and was accurate 125 times.

The 27-year-old Miedema – the Dutch team’s all-time top scorer – has struggled with injuries in the last two seasons, meaning she has seen little action for the London club.

The BBC reports that it was Arsenal’s decision not to renew the contract. It is not known what Miedema’s next step will be.

Miedema is a big name for the Dutch team and women’s football. She is the Dutch team’s all-time top scorer (95 goals in 118 international matches). In 2021, she became the all-time top scorer of the English Super League, top scorer of the Olympic Games and was named Footballer of the Year 2021 in an election by the BBC’s world broadcaster.

But injuries put a temporary end to her football success. In December 2022 she tore her anterior cruciate ligament in the Champions League match between Arsenal and Olympique Lyonnais. She had to recuperate for a long time and missed the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand last summer.

After 311 days of absence, she made her last October return to Arsenal and two months later she was back in the Dutch selection. In March she was sidelined again for several weeks due to a minor knee surgery.

It is not clear whether her injuries are the reason for her departure from Arsenal.

Miedema has nothing but praise for her club. “Playing at the Emirates Stadium is something I dreamed of as a little girl. I have never cared much about personal achievements, but to be able to help the club and score in the Arsenal shirt is something I am very proud of .”

“I have been fortunate to have always been supported by my teammates and friends. It was an honor to play with so many talented players and fellow Dutchmen,” she refers to compatriots Victoria Pelova, Daniëlle van de Donk, Jill Roord, Dominique Janssen and Sari van Veenendaal, with whom she played at Arsenal.