Arsenal Women have signed highly rated Swedish forward Stina Blackstenius from Swedish side Hacken. Blackstenius has also played for Linkopings and Montpellier and has 22 goals in 72 caps for Sweden. Arseblog News reported last week that she was a serious target for the club.
Blackstenius has won two league titles in Sweden as well as two Olympic silver medals with her country. She was well in demand this January with her Hacken contract expired and Manchester United very seriously interested. Stina will wear the number 25 shirt.
At Arsenal, she will hook up with compatriot Jonas Eidevall and further bolster the forward line, she can play at centre-forward or as wide forward but is much more of a classic number 9. There will be an Arsenal Women Arsecast out presently with Swedish journalist and analyst Mia Eriksson discussing her qualities and suitability to Arsenal.
Stina told Arsenal.com, “It feels amazing to be here, I’m so happy to join such a big and great club like Arsenal. I got a really good first impression about this club, they play really good football and I wanted to be a part of that. I feel like I can become a better player in this environment.”
“We’re delighted to have signed Stina,” said head coach Jonas Eidevall. “She is a world-class talent who will add even more quality to our team. Her game is well-suited to the style we are implementing here at Arsenal, and I’m confident that she will take her game to an even higher level here with us.”
“Everyone at the club is thrilled to announce the signing of Stina,” said head of women’s football Clare Wheatley. “She is one of the best forwards in the world and a significant number of clubs were interested in securing her signature this summer, so we are delighted to have made her an Arsenal player. We are all looking forward to seeing her in action soon.”
Arsenal are also expected to add Brazilian defender Rafaelle Souza during the January transfer window, with the player leaving Bahia, in the northeast of the country, on Friday.
Get in!!!
Great signing and wishing her every success. 🙂
It’s always good to welcome a proven, high-class player. However, it does give us an “embarras de choix” in the forward line where Stina joins Viv, Beth, Tobin, Caitlin and Keats (which could mean some departures in the not-to-distant future). The recruitment of Rafaelle is of more immediate importance. She is an experienced international who has played all around the world, but is she a clear improvement on our non-Leah CBs? I’ve been scouring YouTube for clips and, on balance, she looks fine. I can’t get a clear impression of her speed (our main weakness) but she’s decisive and positions… Read more »
Over the moon with this one. Loved her since the 2019 WC and always wanted us to get her if Viv leaves.
Is Spuza an improvement on what we already have? Genuinely curious.
Yes, I’d love to hear anyone’s (but especially Tim’s!) thoughts on Souza. We definitely need to improve our defence, and especially (with all due respect to Jen) we need someone with more pace. Knowing virtually nothing else about Souza, is her age a concern?
Way to go! Stina is fantastic!
I was surprised to read that Arsenal is buying a CB from Bahia, first thought was “i hope this is a defensive Martinelli type of signing”.
Then i realised she actually plays for Palmeiras and is 30 years old with about 15 caps for Brasil.
Good luck to both of them! May they settle in quickly.
Yesssssssssssssss the news we were waiting for!!!! Also, thanks for finally name dropping the other target, I had not found a name yet for the rumored defender so that’s exciting to hear!
Earlier comment disappeared – a couple of points I wanted to make. Always good to sign a player of Stina’s class but we are now overloaded with forwards as she joins Viv, Beth, Keats, Caitlin and Tobin; could mean some exits before too long. I’ve been looking on YouTube for clips of Rafaelle: experienced, decisive, good positioning, can make a long pass, but can’t tell how quick she is. Left-footed (very?) which complements our other CBs. Is she an improvement on what we have already (apart from Leah)? I think almost certainly, yes. She is 30 but I’m not worried… Read more »
Sorry if two or three messages of mine appear all making the same points!
Completely unrelated to these great news: Tim, why is it that English journalists insist on adding the possesive s to Swedish football clubs? You wouldn’t write that we signed someone from Liverpool’s or Barcelona’s, so why write that we signed someone from Linköping’s?
Not important, and not wanting to be an ass, as I truly appreciate your work, I’ve just been somewhat irked by this for a while.
Maybe it ‘s because when you add an ending like “fc” in swedish you usually add the s (when pronouncing it) and they just assume it should always be there?
Likely. Considering that if you write the whole thing out – Linköping’s Football Club – it’s correct. However, as soon as you shorten it to just the town it sounds really weird to my, admittedly Swedish, ears.
I want A world-class CB right now. We cannot depend on Leah alone. She needs a good partner. Sell all three old CB Beattie, Sorensen and Schnarderbeck. Buy Tierna Davidson [best partner for Leah] left-footed and drive forward the same style as Leah. She is tall, quick and young.
Looks like Viv is going out for sure. Even I hope she stays. That will make we got 2 top strikers as no.9. Maybe play 4-4-2. We need to sell Catlin. She is not good enough. She is just a middle-class striker.