Arsenal women officially announced on Monday that star forward Beth Mead will conclude her storied nine-year tenure at the club this summer.
Mead, who has scored 86 goals in 263 appearances for Arsenal, helped the club win the WSL in 2018-19 and set up the goal that clinched victory in last season’s Women’s Champions League final against Barcelona.
Beyond her trophy haul, Mead’s individual brilliance has been recognized at the highest level of the sport. In 2022, she became the first female footballer to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, a feat that followed her record-breaking performance at Euro 2022 where she claimed both the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament honors. She holds the all-time record for the most assists in WSL history.
Always our Meado ❤️ pic.twitter.com/vUZwASvqBK
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) May 11, 2026
“Beth has made a huge contribution to our football club over nine years and will go down in history as one of our best forwards and a legend of the club,” said Clare Wheatley, Arsenal’s director of women’s football.
The 31-year-old former Sunderland player was also part of the England squad that won back-to-back European Championships, but she missed the 2023 World Cup due to an anterior cruciate ligament rupture.
Beth Mead WSL Career Stats:
Mead, the only player with more than 50 goals and 50 assists in WSL history, also suffered a hairline fracture in February that sidelined her for five weeks.
This term she has started only 10 WSL games as Arsenal sit a point behind second-placed Chelsea and seven adrift of champions Manchester City with a game in hand.
Arsenal, who are trying to clinch a guaranteed Champions League qualifying spot with a top-two finish, conclude their season against visitors Everton and at Liverpool this week.
Arsenal’s 26-year-old Netherlands midfielder Victoria Pelova, who joined the North London club in 2023, will also leave at the end of the campaign.
So far in 2026, Mead has recorded 2 goals and 5 assists for Arsenal in the Women’s Super League 2025-26 campaign.
(With inputs from Reuters)
