Vivianne Miedema signs for Manchester City
MANCHESTER CITY The Women's Super League top goalscorer, Vivianne Miedema has joined Manchester City on a free transfer from Arsenal in a three-year deal.
Miedema had scored a record 80 goals in the Women's Super League over the course of seven seasons at Arsenal. In May, she announced that she had made the difficult decision to leave the club.
She has now decided to join their rivals, Manchester City who finished above Arsenal in the league last season, moving without a fee after her contract at Arsenal ended in June. She will wear the number six shirt at Manchester City.
Speaking about the move, Miedema revealed "I have gone through a dificult period in which I did a lot of thinking. Now, it is time to look forward again. At City, I have found my place."
"The club provides all the conditions I need to be my best, both on and of the pitch. Moreover, I am part of a team here that competes for trophies. My ambitions are high, and I believe we can achieve great things together. I can't wait to get started."
"The reason I chose City is because they have the same ambitions as me. They want to win the league and titles. Looking to the future, I've always said I want to play with best players in the world and I think City have got that."
Miedema's last two years have been blighted by illness and injury. She tested positive for Covid-19 during the UEFA Women Euro in 2022 before rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament in December that year, ruling her out of the FIFA Women's World Cup. She returned to action at the end of last year but then suffered a further setback requiring minor knee surgery in March.
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She admitted that "I haven't played as much football as I would have wished over the past two years, but I think and hope my best years are still to come. I hope I'm going to be able to help the team as much as I can do."
"I am just really excited to be part of the team and for the girls to hopefully help me and get me back to my best. If I get back to my best again then we can achieve really nice things together."
At Manchester City, Miedema will play alongside her international team-mate Jill Roord, herself currently recovering from an ACL injury. Speaking to me last year, Roord told me what it was like to play with Miedema. "There's no question she's one of the best in the world, she is very "football intelligent", she knows where the space is so, yeah, I always love playing with her."
"I'm quite fortunate because I do know my two Dutchies here and I do know a lot of the English girls already. Because I've been in England so long, I feel like - although I might not know the girls personally - I've been around so long we've seen each other so many times. I'm really excited to be a part of that team and get to know everyone."
What Miedema's move means for Manchester City's formation remains to be seen. They have played for the last two seasons with the two England wingers, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp either side of a central striker, Khadija Shaw. Before Roord was injured, she played in the attacking midfield position behind Shaw.
Miedema is suited to playing either as a central nine or a deep-lying number ten. Shaw was the Women's Super League top scorer last season with 21 goals and her record since joining the club, scoring 50 goals in 57 league appearances make her virtually undroppable.
Like Miedema's former club Arsenal, Manchester City also face a battle to qualify for the group stages of the UEFA Women's Champions League. They will have to negotiate a two-leg tie in September, a stage in which they have fallen at before.
Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor said "we're really looking forward to welcoming Viv to City and seeing her flourish over the next three years. Our ambition is to compete on the highest stage and for the highest honours, and Viv is aligned to this desire."
"She's a top talent that I'm excited to work with as she's a player I've always admired. Viv will be a real asset to the team."