Arsenal’s star forward Vivianne Miedema has signed a contract extension with the club. The length of the deal has not been disclosed but is believed to be for one-year with an option for a further year. The Dutch international’s previous deal was set to expire on June 30th and her future has been subject to intense speculation for several months now.
Clubs such as Lyon and PSG made inquiries but Barcelona always seemed to be the front runners if a transfer were to take place. Miedema is on record as saying that she is happy at Arsenal and in London but wants to be convinced that the club can compete to win the Champions League.
Miedema has broken the WSL goalscoring record and the Netherlands goalscoring record during her time at the club, also winning a host of individual honours. She has only won the Conti Cup and a WSL title in terms of team honours, however.
Miedema owns her house in London, where she is settled and says she wants to play in a league where she is challenged. Barcelona will almost certainly win the Champions League next season and domestically, they have won every single league game with a +129 goal difference.
The calculation for Miedema has been about being challenged domestically versus winning the UWCL and there are essentially no teams that currently offer both. Signing a reported one-year extension with the Gunners is likely Viv’s way of seeing whether she can be convinced that Arsenal can challenge to win the UWCL, which they haven’t done since 2007.
They’ve been eliminated at the quarter-final stage both times Miedema has played for the club in the competition. She has recently converted to a number 10 role in the second half of the campaign, a role she really enjoys and that has factored into her decision.
Expect the unexpected 👀
Why leave when you rather stay?❤️#MoreThanReady pic.twitter.com/y0LiY62FQ4— Vivianne Miedema (@VivianneMiedema) May 20, 2022
Miedema told Arsenal.com, “I think the most beautiful thing about the game is building something with a team and with people around you that you really want to be around.
“I do feel like I have got that at Arsenal. I feel like for me, winning titles with Arsenal will mean a lot more to me than winning them with another club at the moment. And that’s what I obviously hope to achieve with Arsenal.”
Arsenal coach Jonas Eidevall added: “Viv is a stellar talent and a hugely important player for this team, so it’s fantastic news that she is staying with us.
“As a club, our ambition is to win titles and compete at the highest level – we know Viv’s own ambitions are the same, and together we will give everything to achieve that.”
Well this has made my day, COYG
That has made my day as well!
That’s great news!
On another hand though, and in relation to Williamson’s contract situation as well, this does put some pressure on Arsenal making that extra step forward rather immediately. In the sense of “okay, I like being here and I want to succeed here, but if we can’t show that we can compete at the very top, I’m ready to explore other options”.
I really hope we can do that. Fingers crossed.
Would be curious to hear your thoughts Tim. Obviously that’s just the feeling I get as a (very) outside observer.
This is the thing: I’m happy she has stayed with Arsenal, but is Arsenal going to win the CL in the next year or two? Very unlikely. The Gunners could certainly win the WSL next year–should have won it this year–but that’s not going to be easy with Chelsea, ManCity, etc. I find this obsession with the CL interesting: I suppose if the tourney was organized more efficiently, instead of being big and bloated and dragging on for months, I might appreciate it more.
I think it’s a fair question about the likelihood of Arsenal WFC winning the UWCL, but in practice if we get *closer* to that title next season – ie finalists, even semi-finalists in a tightly fought tie – that will be enough to convince her that Arsenal is worth sticking with, provided we are clearly improving. She *wants* to stay with us, and just needs a half-decent reason to do so.
The CL is her focus because it is the top club competition in the world for female footballers and she wants to test herself against the absolute best.
On a par with Viv from the Young Ones in terms of being one of my favourites ever.
This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence.
This is very good news for the Arsenal Women..
Given that they will be playing Champion’s League football next season,
it will be interesting to see how Jonas intends to close the clear gap in
quality with Barcelona’s team, but perhaps that’s a discussion for another
day.
Yes, indeed – the recruitment this summer will be even more important than usual. Harder? Easier? Difficult to say.
Now all we need are a couple of other top flight players to join Viv and take her and the team on. Anyone got any suggestions as to who should join us? I know Sam Kerr is out of the question but I can dream.
Noice.
OMG Im ecstatic 🥳🍾🥂👌
Good news.
On a tangential point, I don’t get this thing of Viv playing number 10. She’s a better striker than anyone else in the squad and not as good as others in the 10 role. Maybe that’s just me, though.
I also don’t get playing Caitlin Foord on the left wing, when she seems like a through-the-middle player to me.
Completely agree – scoring is the hardest thing in football and she has to be in the top 3 (if not the top 1) in the world at doing this. But if that’s where she wants to play, it’s very hard to convince her otherwise. Perhaps now that she’s signed a hopefully long-term contract we can stick her upfront and tell her to get used to it.
Great news. Now, strengthen the team to show our ambition.
Hopefully, we can wrestle that league title out of Chelsea’s grip next season and win one of the cups, too. Add a deep UWCL run to that and I think we can convince our best players that we have what it takes.
Kudos to the club for pulling this off. MASSIVE
Time to buy her Jersey for next season.
I promised I would if she signed!
Great news! COYG
This is a huge statement. Thank you Arsenal, thank you Viv
It means so much that Viv loves this club. COYG ❤️‼️
This news has made my day, my week, my month, my year! I gather from other sources that Viv is now the highest paid player in the WSL and whatever she is paid she is well worth the expense. Thank you Viv and thank you Arsenal for staying together. League next tear!
She could have gone to PSG and become the highest paid woman in world football; she could have gone to Barcelona and won every match she played; yet she stayed with us! That says a lot about her as a person. She was in a very strong bargaining position so I hope she received very strong assurances that AWFC are commited to making the improvements that will move us up to the next level (i.e. to become the best team in England and, in Europe, to join and then move ahead of PSG, Bayern, Wolfsburg and Lyon -and eventually Barcelona).
Very good news. Now it is about strengthening the midfield.
Thank fuck for that! Her assessment of the situation is absolutely fair and honest.
Congratulations to all parties. You’ve made the right decision, Viv!
@Tim
Apologies for the language – I realise kids may be reading! Wasn’t thinking. Can you delete/edit?
Let’s go!! Great news for the coming season 🔴⚪️
Signing of the season. I suspect that means she has been assured the club are keen to bring in even more talent to compete in Europe next season. I’m excited for the next signing.
Fuckin excellent. A generational talent.
Great news!