Vivianne Miedema is rightly regarded as one of the best players in the world. With 172 appearances in the Women's Super League (WSL) for Arsenal, 125 goals, 50 assists, two Golden Boot awards, one league and three Continental Cup titles, as well as being shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or three times (2019, 2021 and 2022), the stats speak for themselves.
But it is the end of an era. After seven years at Arsenal, the WSL's all-time top scorer is set to depart after the final game of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
Sources told ESPN that Arsenal chose not to offer her a new contract, while WSL rivals Manchester City are interested in signing the 27-year-old Netherlands international on a free transfer once her deal ends.
But why did the Gunners opt to let one of their fan favourites leave, potentially for direct competitors? And might they regret it?
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A unique player
It is hard to describe Miedema's ability; there is something ethereal, otherworldly, about her skills. When a ball is at her feet it feels like magic will happen, and it often does with the kinds of spectacular goals she scores. She is an elite No. 9 and skilful No. 10 rolled into one, but it's her finishing that makes her stand out.
"She's unique in women's football," Netherlands international and former Arsenal teammate Jill Roord told UEFA. "She's one of a kind; an absolute killer. You see it in men's football -- players who are so cool in front of the goal -- but I don't think anybody else in women's football has that to her extent."
With an all-time WSL record of 125 goals, as well as the record for the most goals in a single WSL season (22), Miedema's ability to finish is second to none. She joined Arsenal from Bayern Munich off the back of winning Euro 2017 with Netherlands and made a splash almost immediately, becoming the first player to ever reach 50 WSL goals (in just her 50th game) by the 2020-21 season.
Miedema is not one for the spotlight or personal awards, though, and seldom celebrates her goals out of respect for opponents. Off the pitch she advocates for player welfare, mental health and equal opportunities for young girls; on it, she gets joy from elevating the skills of those around her and works hard to spot passes, find space and create goal-scoring opportunities for others. She doesn't need to score or assist, or even really be at the heart of the game, to have an impact.
"She just sees things a lot earlier," Joe Montemurro, who coached Miedema at Arsenal from 2017 to 2021, told The Athletic after the announcement that she would be leaving the club. "If you give her that room, she can be very effective. She has the weapons to play all those areas, whether it's back to goal, coming from outside in, starting from a lower position. When you've got a player of that calibre, let her make the decision in the moment."
Two seasons of trauma
It has been a slightly different story for Miedema over the last two seasons, though. Off the back of a difficult Euro 2022 campaign -- where she openly spoke about contracting COVID-19 and struggled with the after-effects during the tournament -- she began to regain her usual prolific form before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in December in a Champions League game against Lyon.
That ruled her out for 10 months and it came just a month after her partner and Arsenal teammate, Beth Mead, suffered the same injury. During their recovery, Arsenal filmed a documentary about their journey back to full fitness -- which helped to shine a light on an all-too-common injury in the women's game -- but while Mead had eight goals and three assists from 19 games on her return, Miedema suffered several setbacks along the way and struggled with her rebab.
She eventually made her return to the pitch in Arsenal's 2-1 win over Bristol City in October 2023, but picked up another issue in February that required surgery and only recently started playing again.
With one goal in eight matches this season, it's clear that the prolonged recovery has prevented her recapturing her best form with Arsenal. Having been unable to use her skills for the past 16 months, it is possible that her injury spell played a role in the club's decision to let her go, but they may regret allowing her to join City. One source told ESPN that it would be "stupid" to allow Miedema to head to a WSL rival, knowing just how good she will be once fully fit again, but it looks like that is what is going to happen.
"Arsenal clearly have a plan that doesn't include Viv," Arsenal men's legend Ian Wright wrote on X. "We can judge that plan in the next few seasons. Just like we can judge Viv getting back to the levels that made her one of the best players in the world.
"Viv can go to City and make us regret it. Arsenal as a club (not just the manager!) have to have conviction in their ability to get the big decisions right, put the club first and be judged on it by all of us. There is risk and opportunity for both sides."
Why Arsenal struggled to keep her
Montemurro relished having Miedema in his side because her natural inquisitive nature and football-centric brain made for riveting tactical discussions.
"I absolutely loved working with her because we used to challenge each other," Montemurro told The Athletic. "I'd say: 'No, that's not right.' She'd go: 'Yes, it is, it's right.' Tactically, the way we wanted to approach things, we would have great discussions about how we could improve. I really loved those discussions. She's really an intelligent thinker in terms of the way she sees the game.
"We had a lot of banter, it was always a lot of fun. She was an amazing listener and an amazing person wanting to bring the game to the next level. She had a massive impact. I definitely grew as a coach."