On Friday 20th of May 2022, Arsenal fans got the news that they had been hoping would have been revealed soon. They were hoping for an extension to Miedema’s contract and it happened. There has been ambiguity around the length of her contract, but the most trustworthy reports (The Times and Sky Sports) are reporting more than a 1-year deal.
BACKGROUND TO THE DEAL
Miedema was heavily (and I mean heavily) linked to former Champions League winners Barcelona, as they won in 2021 against Chelsea, but they lost 2022 one to Lyon yesterday. Barca wanted to strengthen after that and Miedema was central to that plan. However, it seems that, even if just for now, Miedema has stayed at Meadow Park.
There are multiple reasons for this, and there’s definitely not a sole reason. Playing time at Barcelona would obviously be less secure than it is at Arsenal due to Barcelona’s quality in their squad and having higher levels of competitiveness in that top bracket of quality, so that would have worked in the Gunners’ favour.
However, Viv’s love for Arsenal would have helped Eidevall and Arsenal retain their star player. Miedema has played for Arsenal since 2017 and has had moments of success with them, including a WSL title win in 2019, however, she wants to aim for bigger and better things.
After signing, Miedema said, “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.” – This shows that her connection to the club and her friends at the club was key in her decision to stay.
“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.”
So, Miedema wants to win titles, but she wants them with Arsenal. So, what does this mean for the Gunners? Could this mean more transfer business? What does this mean for Lisa Evans’ future? Well, let’s dive into that, and more in the remainder of this article.
TRANSFER BUSINESS
Well, Arsenal were rumoured with some other things apart from Miedema, and that included Nikita Parris and Caitlin Foord’s potential moves away from Meadow Park, Geyse Ferreira links, Lisa Evans contract situation.
Nikita Parris only joined the Gunners last summer, but rumours were appearing of her leaving Arsenal. Her situation will likely be unchanged as a result of Miedema’s extension, or it could make an exit more likely, as Arsenal know they have a goalscorer in their team for next season.
Geyse Ferreira is a bit more interesting. Many believe that she would have been a replacement for Miedema. However, some believe that she would be a switch with Nikita Parris or Caitlin Foord, who, as we said above, is more likely to exit after her poor spell for the Gunners this season.
But, she could also be there as a squad depth option, and this would make sense. With Miedema stepping back into midfield, Ferriera could be there to provide a challenge to Stina Blackstenius. The 24-year-old finished the season as joint top scorer in the league despite playing for a Madrid CFF team who finished 13th.
Geyse was responsible for 47.6% of Madrid’s goals, as they scored 42 goals with her scoring 20 of them, being integral in their survival this season. As said in an article about the Brazilian, “In the 11 league games she has either not scored or did not feature in […] 10 of those matches ended in defeat. [When that is] compared to the 13 league matches where Geyse has netted, Madrid CFF have collected 20 points.”
Caitlin Foord was rumoured to leave, potentially joining Juventus (something which I’ve previously written an article about, which you can read here). I believe that her situation is dependent on Ferreira’s, but I’m not really sure that Foord and Parris will both leave this summer.
Lisa Evans’ situation would theoretically improve with Miedema staying in London, as it could be more likely that she would stay with Vivianne (the two have been in a relationship for a while now) in London, but will that be for West Ham, Arsenal or another club?
