Arsenal winger Lisa Evans will join on West Ham on loan for this season. The Scot joined the Gunners in 2018 from Bayern Munich and was an integral part of the 2018-19 title winning team when she was moved from the right wing to right-back.
The 29-year old had an injury hit season last year, with hamstring and achilles issues limiting her to just four starts in the WSL. Arsenal signed Noelle Maritz from Wolfsburg last summer to play at right-back and Anna Patten, who joined in January, has also played there predominantly since joining the club.
The additions of Mana Iwabuchi and Nikita Parris bolster Arsenal’s wide options, as does a return to fitness for Steph Catley at left-back, meaning that Katie McCabe is free to play further forward. It seems as though the calculation has been made that Evans’ game time will be restricted this season.
Lisa’s contract expires at the end of this coming season so it seems as though, sadly, she might have played her final game for the club.
Sad to see her go. But completely understandable. Good for her for choosing game time. She’ll be great for West Ham.
Lisa :’( one of my faves but it makes sense for her to get more gametime. Will this mean no more behind the scenes vlogs w Viv? None at Arsenal training at least i imagine.
She’ll still do the vlogs if they were planned to begin with. WePlayStrong isn’t an Arsenal thing. They have other players making content over in Germany. Beth is also part of it so maybe Beth will start vlogging. She’s still going to be living with Viv and most likely involved in some of the girls’ lives. She’s good friends witv Mana and looks like she’s gotten very close woth Lotte and Anna too so if she vlogs, it’ll still be a lot of home and social life stuff too.
right, i know all that; i’ll just miss the behind the scenes arsenal training ground stuff, it felt so up close and personal with the team, and i just don’t know the rest of the west ham team enough to be invested in them. But maybe i will be now that Lisa is there; i started following Arsenal & Viv & women’s soccer at the same time (right before the euros in 2017), but Lisa also stole my heart soooo maybe i’ll now just also be following her and West Ham.
Well call me psychic but did I not predict she would end up at the Hammers in the previous thread? I thought she would go full time rather than loan but as you say, Tim, she’s unlikely to do an Arnie if her contract is up. If there is no room for her this year I suspect there shall be less room next and no extension offer!
Good luck to Lisa. Her role in the title winning season as emergency RB shouldn’t be underestimated. She played huge role in our last title. But as discussed she just don’t have a role in a team anymore. 5th choice RW and 3rd choice RB shouldn’t satisfy any player.
I assume from letting Lisa go now and not in 2 weeks time that Viv, Mana, Keets are ready for next weeks Champions League qualifiers. Maybe even Matildas…
Many thanks to Lisa who it’s been a pleasure to watch, and every good wish for the future. As others have said, this makes good sense for her – regular appearances all through the season, and joining another London club means no need to move house (keep up the project of making Viv sound more and more Scottish!) It’s also very good business for West Ham who finished only three points above relegation last season.
Must admit I loved watching Lisa play always gave 100% whatever position she played, I would have preferred Beth to have moved on as she doesn’t do 100%. Next year may now be clearer as Viv and Lisa are likely to look for another club to take them as a pair.
I don’t particularly *enjoy* watching Beth compared to someone like Katie or Mana and have been frustrated with her lack of effort in the past, but I think she brings more to the table than Lisa who has been really unlucky with injuries. I predict Beth will be a good impact sub. She can’t cross or make intelligent off the ball runs like Katie, doesn’t score as many as Keets, and can’t create efficiently like Mana but she will be a very big nuisance for teams to deal with.
You may well be right, but for me I prefer the willing worker to the gifted shirker. You would have thought that being dropped by GB would have hammered home that Beth needs to work harder, but, having watched her in the pre season games nothing appears to have changed.
First time I’ve heard Beth Mead described as a “shirker”. Far from it in my opinion and, I would surmise, in that of our trusted scribe. From the previous article, to quote “Beth Mead’s superpower is pressing opposing fullbacks and regaining the ball higher up the pitch”. I can’t see a “shirker” being worthy of that accolade.
Sorry Chris just poetic license, worker/shirker, but if you want me to break it down into something less offensive fine. Beth Mead can be brilliant at times but then for no apparent reason just switches off, one minute chasing and hustling for the ball and then suddenly she just starts walking. Last England call up she didn’t make the cut first time round and then team GB not picked. A person close to the team put it to me this way “Beth needs to learn to play for the full 90 minutes” Hopefully this is a more acceptable account for… Read more »
Interesting to read as I’ve never noticed Mead not having a good work rate. Very surprising, actually, and I’ve seen her play a lot.
I like both Mead and Evans as players. I thought Evans was /very good/ at right forward (and right back) in Arsenal’s title-winning season and not sure there’s all that much difference between the two, really. I’ve not seen Mead play anything but hard. She wasn’t very productive last year but then it was an off year for practically everybody.
I don’t think Lisa and Viv are going to go away somewhere. Lisa is 29. Just took a big step down to get game time. Viv will be one of the biggest signings ever. Whether she stays and signs with Arsenal or someone takes her. It’ll be with one of the biggest teams in the world. Lisa will not be on the list of any of those teams. Just like Daan and Beth, I think Lisa and Viv are very much aware this career will most likely mean they will be apart for a bit. They are solid to know… Read more »
Marieke, you seem to have inside knowledge that I don’t have, but as I’m looking from outside the box it seems to me that they came as a pair and if they can swing it they will leave the same way. Any team wanting Viv would I’m sure find a place for Lisa.
I have as much inside knowledge as they share with the world about their relationship. The fact they came together (which they didn’t really… Viv came first and a few months later Lisa joined) to me doesn’t say they are set on staying together. I don’t think Viv, who will most likely go to a huge club, will demand this club to take Lisa too. If anybody is willing, I’m sure they’ll go for it, but I don’t see Lyon or Barcelona take on Lisa.
Just as an aside I wonder how Barca ladies will be affected with the money problems? Maybe in the next couple of months some real talent may be looking for another club.
Yeah. I’m not sure how much they will be affected. I doubt too much as the men (read: people in power) act like it’s not affecting them. I think they’ll do what they’ve been doing in support of the women. The women look like they are becoming the new Lyon. I see them as the favorites to win the WCL again. Engen and Rölfo know what they are doing.
Miedema would score a ton of goals with that Barca team–but aside from Atletico Madrid they have no real competition in that league and I wonder if lobsided contests is really all that appealing. I don’t recall the numbers but Barca’s goal differential last year was ridiculous.
i’ve wondered about this too. I actually think they will want to keep living together, because they are already apart for internationals and they’ve lived together for their entire relationship as far as i know. I could imagine something like Viv at man city and Lisa at utd (similar to now but in manchester). Except that i hope Viv stays at arsenal if they stay in the WSL. I’m having trouble imagining where they’ll go in Europe. I think they’ve said they didn’t love the bundesliga (but maybe the bundesliga has changed?), so that kinda leaves the big french teams… Read more »
Yes the career of a professional footballer is quite short so you have to make hay while the sun shines. If that means you have to be in a different country from your partner for 5 years or so that is probably a sacrifice they are willing to make being the competitive sportswomen that they are.
Fortunately for Viv/Lisa and Meado/DvD they are all in the same profession so are in a position to understand the necessity it would probably be different if the other halves were not footballers.
i mean, they may or may not be willing to make that sacrifice. I would also understand if they would not be willing to.
If Viv leaves, it’s apt to be for a big club, and I doubt that such a club will have a starting role for Evans. Indeed, I don’t think there are that many teams that would work for Miedema. Maybe ManU, which does not have a star-caliber CF, maybe one of the two top French teams, but Lyon already have Hegerberg. I can’t see her going back to the Bundesliga. Maybe Barca, but not sure that club would want another non-Spanish forward, though Viv would absolutely rack up goals with that team. Let’s hope she and the rest of the… Read more »
Thanks so much for everything, Lisa. I’ve loved your positive attitude, tireless running and 100% commitment. West Ham are very lucky!
@Tim
Are we all done for transfers in, do you know?
Thank you for all your varied contributions to our Club Lisa…..player, scout, entertainment officer and, simply, a very nice person.
Sorry to see you go but understand that from a professional playing perspective you need minutes on the pitch, not time on the bench cheerleading.
As an indication of a decisive management style from Jonas this is, perhaps, a good sign.