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Arsenal W.F.C.

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This article is about the women's football club based in England. For the men's team, see Arsenal F.C. For other teams called Arsenal, see Arsenal (disambiguation) § Football.

Arsenal
Full nameArsenal Women Football Club
Nickname(s)The Gunners
Founded1987; 37 years ago (1987) as Arsenal Ladies
GroundEmirates Stadium (from 2024–25 season)
Meadow Park (other home games)
Capacity60,704 (all seated)
Emirates Stadium[1]
4,500 (1,700 seated)
Meadow Park
OwnerKroenke Sports & Entertainment
Head coachRenée Slegers (interim)
LeagueWomen's Super League
2023–24WSL, 3rd of 12
Websitehttps://www.arsenal.com/women
Current season
Departments of Arsenal
Men's Football Women's Football
Men's Academy Women's Academy

Arsenal Women Football Club, commonly referred to as just Arsenal,[2][3] is an English professional women's football club based in Islington, London, England. The club plays in the Women's Super League, the top tier of English women's football. Arsenal were founded in 1987 following an initiative by Vic Akers, who became the club's first, longest-serving, and most successful manager. He guided Arsenal to continued success until his departure in 2009, winning the most top-flight matches in English football history. The club have sustained this record,[4] and have won the most doubles and trebles in English football history. Arsenal have also completed a record seven unbeaten league seasons, setting a number of English records for longest top-flight unbeaten run, for goals scored, and points won.[5][6]

Arsenal are statistically the most successful club in English women's football, holding the records for most titles won in each domestic competition they have played. The club have won 15 league titles, 14 Women's FA Cups, 7 Women's League Cups, 10 Women's National League Cups, 5 Women's FA Community Shields, and are the only English club to win the UEFA Women's Champions League. They are also the only English club to win the continental treble while going undefeated in all competitions played that same season. In the 2006–07 season, the club became the first in the history of women's football to achieve the continental European sextuple.[7]

Arsenal play their home games primarily at the Emirates Stadium, and others at Meadow Park in Borehamwood. In the 2023–24 season, Arsenal sold out the 60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium three times against Chelsea, Manchester United, and North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur; and broke the WSL record attendance three times in total during the season. Current plans for the club are for all matches to be played at the Emirates Stadium,[8] beginning with all league matches, and then qualifying rounds of the champions league, with domestic cup games to follow.[9]

History

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Further information: List of Arsenal W.F.C. seasons

1987–2009: Founding and early success

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Arsenal Football Club had explored the idea of a women's team from as early as the 1960s, when local teams asked for financial support in an attempt to turn semi-professional; the Ladies of Islington notably sought support from the club, but were turned down by the Arsenal hierarchy in 1965.[10] Following The Football Association's (FA) decision to rescind the ban on women's football in England in 1969, the game's popularity increased following the creation of official league matches and knock-out competition organised by the Women's Football Association (WFA).[11]

Millwall Lionesses had become the first women's team to affiliate with a prominent men's team. The Rotherhithe-based side was founded in 1971 and pioneered a successful youth community scheme for young women with support from their parent club.[12] Arsenal looked to replicate Millwall's success and founded their own women's team and youth programmes for girls by amalgamating with local team Aylesbury Ladies.[13] Arsenal Ladies Football Club was formed in 1987 by long-term Arsenal men's kit manager Vic Akers, and he was appointed as the amateur side's initial manager.[14] With the support of then vice chairman David Dein, Akers' plea for resources such as playing boots, the men's team coach and the use of training facilities were often answered in a period where financial support for the women's game was scarce; Arsenal thus dominated the women's game in England during the 1990s and 2000s.[14]

Arsenal celebrate a Cup double in 1998

They won their first major honour, the Women's League Cup, in the 1991–92 season and won promotion to the FA Women's Premier League from the FA Women's National League South in the same year. A season later, they won the top division title at the first time of asking.[15]

This began a period of sustained dominance for the club, who soon permanently moved into Meadow Park in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, in a groundshare agreement with non-league side Boreham Wood. Following the successes of the men's team, Arsenal made a conscious effort to brand women's football as equitable. Over the next 20 years, Arsenal approached all facets of the game, such as training, tactics, scouting, and finance, with the goal of growing the club and winning trophies. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Arsenal topped the Premier League for many seasons, boasting academy graduates like Marieanne Spacey and Faye White, as well as spending the club's income on stars like Emma Byrne, enabling the club to win a slew of trophies.[16] Akers stepped down as manager of Arsenal's Women's team during the summer of 1997 to become kit manager for the men's team. Terry Howard took charge of the team for the 1997–98 season[17] but Akers returned in 1998–99 following Howard's departure. The club became semi-professional in 2002.[18][19]

Under Akers' stewardship, Arsenal enjoyed unilateral domestic success, as the club claimed 11 league titles, nine FA Women's Cup titles, ten FA Women's Premier League Cup titles, and five FA Women's Community Shield wins. This included seven straight league wins from the 2003–04 season to 2009–10 season, as well as six unbeaten campaigns.[20][21] Akers led the team to the most successful club season in English women's football in the 2006–07 season as the team won every competition available to them, including the UEFA Women's Cup. The win marked Arsenal's only European trophy and was the first time an English club had won the competition.[22] This unique sextuple was recognized with The Committee Award by the Sports Journalists' Association in the 2007 Sports Journalists' Awards.[23]

Akers also led the team to a number of English women's football records, including a six-year league unbeaten run from October 2003[24] to March 2009, marking 108 games without defeat. During that spell, Arsenal won a record 51 league games in a row, between November 2005 and April 2008.[14] Akers retired from management following a domestic treble in the 2008–09 season.

2009–present: Post-Akers and the WSL

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Arsenal players celebrate winning the 2018–19 FA WSL title

Akers was succeeded by Tony Gervaise,[25] who resigned in February 2010 after only eight months in charge, suggesting his position had been undermined by outside interference.[25] In an unusual development, reserve coach Laura Harvey became first-team manager and Gervaise became reserve coach.[26] This appointment marked the club's first female coach in any capacity.

After a year break in play in preparation for a reformatted league, Arsenal were named as founder members of the FA Women's Super League, which commenced in the spring of 2011.[27] Arsenal won the inaugural season, marking their eighth consecutive English title, and secured another domestic double by also winning the FA Cup.[28] After a two-year period without a league triumph, Shelley Kerr was announced as Harvey's successor in 2013. Under her management, the club won two FA Women's Cups, including a win in 2014 two weeks after the men's team won the 2014 FA Cup, completing a rare FA Cup double for the club. But after a poor run of form which saw Arsenal gain only one point from the opening four league matches of the 2014 season, including exits from the Champions League to minnows Birmingham and a shock loss to Reading, Kerr resigned.[29] She was replaced by Pedro Losa.[30] Losa led the team to the 2015 FA WSL Cup[31] and the 2016 FA Women's Cup.[32] Moreover, he helped to rebuild the squad, notably recruiting younger stars like Daniëlle van de Donk, Kim Little, Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema. Losa also brought through youngsters like Leah Williamson. However, Losa left following a poor start to the 2017-18 season[33] and was replaced by Joe Montemurro.

In July 2017, the club rebranded as Arsenal Women Football Club,[3][15] in a move described by Arsenal as "clear signal of togetherness and unity", and to retain the progressive ethos of the club.[2] Utilizing the core Losa helped build, Montemurro led Arsenal to the 2018–19 Women's Super League title with a game to spare. The win marked their first title in seven years, and the club's return to the Champions League for the first time in five years. Montemurro left the club at the end of the 2020–21 season.[34]

Following the resignation of Montemurro, the club appointed Jonas Eidevall as head coach of Arsenal.[34] On 24 September 2022, the North London derby at the Emirates Stadium recorded an attendance figure of 47,367, the highest ever for a WSL match. Arsenal won the match 4–0.[35][36] On 5 March 2023, Arsenal defeated Chelsea 3–1 in the Women's League Cup final to win their first trophy since 2019.[37] Arsenal repeated the feat the following year, defeating Chelsea 1–0 after extra time to win their ninth Women's League Cup title.[38]

In the 2023–24 season, the WSL record attendance was broken three times at the Emirates; against Liverpool in September with 54,115,[39] Chelsea in December with 59,042,[40] followed by Manchester United in February with 60,160.[41] In March, the Emirates again sold out for the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur with 60,050 in attendance, becoming the second biggest crowd in WSL history.[42]

On 15 October 2024, during the 2024-25 season, Jonas Eidevall resigned as manager of Arsenal following a string of poor results and fan scrutiny.[43] On the same day, it was announced that the ex-Dutch national player Renée Slegers was promoted from assistant coach to interim head coach of the first team.

Kits

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Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

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Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor (chest) Shirt sponsor (sleeve)
1987–1994 Adidas JVC None
1994–1999 Nike
1999–2002 Dreamcast
Sega
2002–2006 O2
2006–2014 Fly Emirates[44]
2014–2018 Puma[45]
2018–2019 Visit Rwanda[46]
2019– Adidas[47]

Stadium

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Arsenal played the majority of their home matches at Meadow Park, home of National League side Boreham Wood FC, in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The ground has a capacity of 4,500.

In the 2022–23 season, the club had the highest home attendance of all clubs in the WSL, with an average of 15,046 fans in attendance per match.[48] The average was taken from matches hosted at both Meadow Park and Emirates Stadium across the season. For the 2023–24 season, Arsenal played five of their matches at the Emirates Stadium, and the remainder at Meadow Park,[49] averaging 30,017 attendance per march.[50]

As of the 2024–25 season, Emirates Stadium is the main home of Arsenal.[51] The team will play 8–11 WSL matches and Champions League 2024–25 matches at the Emirates, with the remainder of matches played at Meadow Park.[52]

Players

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First-team squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Austria AUT Manuela Zinsberger
2 DF United States USA Emily Fox
3 DF England ENG Lotte Wubben-Moy
5 DF Spain ESP Laia Codina
6 DF England ENG Leah Williamson (vice-captain)
7 DF Australia AUS Steph Catley
8 FW Spain ESP Mariona Caldentey
9 FW England ENG Beth Mead
10 MF Scotland SCO Kim Little (captain)
11 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Katie McCabe (3rd captain)
12 MF Norway NOR Frida Maanum
13 MF Switzerland SUI Lia Wälti (4th captain)
14 GK Netherlands NED Daphne van Domselaar
16 FW Sweden SWE Rosa Kafaji
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 FW Sweden SWE Lina Hurtig
19 FW Australia AUS Caitlin Foord
21 MF Netherlands NED Victoria Pelova
22 MF Denmark DEN Kathrine Møller Kühl
23 FW England ENG Alessia Russo
25 FW Sweden SWE Stina Blackstenius
26 DF Austria AUT Laura Wienroither
28 DF Sweden SWE Amanda Ilestedt
32 MF Australia AUS Kyra Cooney-Cross
40 GK England ENG Naomi Williams
53 FW England ENG Vivienne Lia
56 MF England ENG Freya Godfrey
60 MF England ENG Laila Harbert
62 DF England ENG Katie Reid

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
29 DF England ENG Teyah Goldie (at London City Lionesses until 30 June 2025)
59 FW England ENG Michelle Agyemang (at Brighton & Hove Albion until 30 June 2025)

Academy

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Further information: Arsenal W.F.C. Academy

Arsenal also operate a reserve team, which is mainly formed from Academy players. The reserves have won four FA Women's Premier Reserve League titles and five FA Women's Premier Reserve League Cups in their history.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
44 FW England ENG Sophie Harwood
No. Pos. Nation Player
50 MF England ENG Omotara Junaid

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
58 MF England ENG Isabella Fisher (at Ipswich Town until 30 June 2025)
61 MF England ENG Madison Earl (at Bristol City until January 2025)
65 FW England ENG Jessie Gale (at Watford until 30 June 2025)[a]
  1. ^ Dual registration

Former players

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For notable current and former players, see Category:Arsenal W.F.C. players.

Management and staff

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Current staff

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As of 15 October 2024[citation needed]
Position Name
Director of Women's Football Clare Wheatley
Technical Services Manager Jodie Taylor[53]
Head coach Renée Slegers (interim)[54]
Assistant coaches Aaron D'Antino
Kelly Smith
Chris Bradley
Goalkeeper coach Sebastian Barton
Lead strength and conditioning coach Padraig Roche
Head of sports medicine and sports science Gary Lewin
Doctor Matthew Ogunsanya
Lead physiotherapist Rose Glendinning
Sports psychologist Matt Domville
Analyst Jonny Dixon
Melissa Phillips
Head of Women's Football Operations Holly Skinner
Academy manager James Honeyman

Managerial history

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Dates Name
1987–1997 England Vic Akers
1997–1998 England Terry Howard
1998–2009 England Vic Akers
2009–2010 Scotland Tony Gervaise
2010–2013 England Laura Harvey
2013–2014 Scotland Shelley Kerr
2014–2017 Spain Pedro Martínez Losa
2017–2021 Australia Joe Montemurro
2021–2024 Sweden Jonas Eidevall
2024– Netherlands Renée Slegers (interim)

Honours

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Arsenal W.F.C. honours[55]
Type Competition Titles Seasons
Regional London County FA Women's Cup 10 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
National English Football Championship[note 1] 15 1992–93, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011, 2012, 2018–19
FA Women's Premier League South[note 2] 1 1991–92
Women's FA Cup 14 1992–93, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16
FA Women's League Cup 7 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017–18, 2022–23, 2023–24
FA Women's National League Cup 10 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2008–09
Women's FA Community Shield 5 2000,[note 3] 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008
Continental UEFA Women's Champions League 1 2006–07
  1. ^ Including the WFA National League Premier Division (1991–1994), FA Premier League National Division (1995–2010), and the Women's Super League (since 2011)
  2. ^ Arsenal played in the competition when it was a part of the country's joint second division, in conjunction with the northern section. Today the competition is a part of the country's third division and is called the FA Women's National League South.[citation needed]
  3. ^ The 2000 FA Women's Charity Shield was shared with Charlton Athletic

References

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  1. ^ "Emirates Stadium Arsenal FC, Info & Map". Premierleague.com. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Important update from our women's team". Arsenal Media. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Women's Super League One : Arsenal drop 'Ladies' from name". BBC Sport. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Arsenal WFC – Records and Statistics". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Arsenal Women – History". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  6. ^ "England – Arsenal WFC". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  7. ^ Miller, Nick (25 December 2017). "Barcelona, Arsenal Ladies lead teams with single-season trophy hauls". ESPN. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Arsenal Women sell out Emirates Stadium for North London Derby". Gooners. 2 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Emirates Stadium to host more AWFC matches". Arsenal Media. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  10. ^ Smith, Jackie (1 January 1965). "Football Girls will fight on". Islington Gazette. p. 9.
  11. ^ "The Story of Women's Football in England". The Football Association. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  12. ^ "About the Lionesses". Millwall Supporters Club. 3 August 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Arsenal Ladies FC are a franchise". Women's Football Archive. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Kessel, Anna (4 May 2008). "The invincibles". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  15. ^ a b Trehan, Dev (28 July 2017). "Arsenal Ladies renamed Arsenal Women". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Arsenal and its Greatest Women of All Time". DailyCannon. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  17. ^ "Howard Takes Charge For New Season (page 31)". Arsenal FC. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  18. ^ Tony Leighton (15 May 2002). "Banks stays with semi-pro Gunners". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
  19. ^ "Players". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Arsenal Ladies Honours". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 12 August 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
  21. ^ "Arsenal Ladies 4–1 Chelsea". Arsenal F.C. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
  22. ^ Leighton, Tony (29 April 2007). "Arsenal boss hails Uefa Cup win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  23. ^ Cole, Ian (2006). "Sports Journalists' Awards 2007". Sports Journalists' Association. Archived from the original on 5 December 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
  24. ^ "Ladies complete unbeaten League century". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  25. ^ a b Leighton, Tony (20 February 2010). "Arsenal Ladies boss Tony Gervaise reveals reasons behind shock exit". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  26. ^ "Laura Harvey becomes Arsenal Ladies manager". Arsenal F.C. 11 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  27. ^ "Lincoln Ladies FA Women's Super League bid success". BBC Sport. 22 March 2010. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
  28. ^ "Arsenal take English WSL title". UEFA. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  29. ^ Asaolu, Tolu (18 September 2013). "Arsenal miss Champions League next season". futaa.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  30. ^ "Arsenal Ladies: Pedro Martinez Losa appointed new manager". BBC Sport. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  31. ^ Garry, Tom (1 November 2015). "Continental Cup final: Arsenal Ladies 3–0 Notts County Ladies". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  32. ^ Garry, Tom (14 May 2016). "Women's FA Cup final: Arsenal Ladies 1–0 Chelsea Ladies". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  33. ^ Benge, James (25 October 2017). "Pedro Martinez Losa leaves Arsenal". Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  34. ^ a b Westwood, James (28 June 2021). "Arsenal Women appoint Eidevall to succeed Montemurro as new head coach". goal.com. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  35. ^ Imber, Leon (24 September 2022). "Arsenal-Tottenham derby smashes WSL attendance record". ESPN. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  36. ^ Unwin, Will (24 September 2022). "Arsenal 4–0 Tottenham: Women's Super League — as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  37. ^ Smith, Emma (5 March 2023). "Women's League Cup: Arsenal win first trophy since 2019 – reaction". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  38. ^ Gibson, Aidan (31 March 2024). "Report: Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea (inc goal)". Arseblog News. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  39. ^ Burhan, Asif (1 October 2023). "Liverpool Women Stun Arsenal In Front Of Record WSL Attendance". Forbes. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  40. ^ Lawson, Sophie (10 December 2023). "Arsenal-Chelsea sets new WSL attendance record". ESPN. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  41. ^ "Women's Super League: Attendance record broken in Arsenal's win over Man Utd". BBC Sport. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  42. ^ Wrack, Suzanne (3 March 2024). "Arsenal and Russo delight sold-out crowd with WSL derby win over Spurs". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  43. ^ "Sarina Wiegman left 'shocked and flabbergasted' by Jonas Eidevall departure from Arsenal | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. 15 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  44. ^ "Emirates and Arsenal Renew Sponsorship Deal". The Emirates Group. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  45. ^ "PUMA and Arsenal announce partnership". Arsenal F.C. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  46. ^ "Arsenal partner with 'Visit Rwanda'". Arsenal F.C. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  47. ^ "adidas and Arsenal launch new home kit". Arsenal F.C. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  48. ^ "Women Women's Super League 2022/2023 - Attendance". worldfootball.net. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  49. ^ "Arsenal Women to play more WSL games at Emirates". Arsenal F.C. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  50. ^ "Women Women's Super League 2023/2024 - Attendance". worldfootball.net. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  51. ^ "Emirates Stadium becomes Arsenal Women's main home". Arsenal F.C. 27 July 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  52. ^ "Arsenal women: Emirates Stadium becomes main home for next season". BBC Sport. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  53. ^ "Jodie Taylor joins as Football Services Executive". Arsenal F.C. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  54. ^ "Jonas Eidevall leaves Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. 15 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  55. ^ "Women's Honours". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 5 March 2023.

Further information

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