Beth Mead has revealed it “breaks her heart” to leave Arsenal following the announcement that the forward will exit the club when the current campaign concludes.
The 31-year-old England international has netted 86 goals in 263 appearances for the Gunners since arriving from Sunderland in 2017. During her time at the club, she helped Arsenal clinch the Women’s Champions League, Women’s Super League, FIFA Champions Cup, and three League Cups.
London City Lionesses and Manchester City are reportedly interested in signing Mead, who was named Player of the Tournament and won the Golden Boot as England triumphed at Euro 2022.
While acknowledging the “unbelievable” on-field success she enjoyed with Arsenal, Mead especially highlighted the support she received off the pitch, describing the club as the place “where I’ve grown up” and where she “felt a love and belonging” during struggles with homesickness, injury, and personal loss.
“For me, it’s always been about more than just trophies, it’s about the people you share it with,” Mead said in an emotional Instagram video. “The friendships I’ve made here go far beyond football and I know that they’ll last a lifetime. You’ve seen me at my very best and you’ve seen me at my lowest and you’ve never let me face anything alone.”
Mead described tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 2022 as “one of the toughest challenges of my career,” adding that “it was the team that got me through very dark days of rehab.” She shared: “I lost my Mum in January 2023 and I didn’t know how I’d get through it but you held me up when I felt like I couldn’t stand. You surrounded me with love and I’ll never forget that. Leaving this club isn’t easy. It breaks my heart in ways I didn’t expect but I leave it with so much love, so much pride, and so much gratitude. Arsenal will always be a part of me.”
Arsenal’s director of women’s football, Clare Wheatley, called Mead a “legend of the club” who will “go down in history as one of our best forwards.”
Mead ruptured her ACL in November 2022 and missed the 2023 World Cup. The 2022 BBC Sports Personality of the Year returned after 11 months out and was part of the England squad that retained the European title at Euro 2025. She came on as a substitute in last season’s Champions League final against Barcelona and, in what she says was one of her “greatest highlights in an Arsenal shirt,” set up the winner for Stina Blackstenius as Arsenal won the title for the first time in 18 years.
This season, Mead has made 27 appearances in the WSL and Champions League, with 11 as a substitute, scoring five goals.
Arsenal also announced that Victoria Pelova, who joined from Ajax in January 2023, will leave at the end of the season. The Dutch midfielder has made 87 appearances for the Gunners, scoring six goals.
Mead’s departure is considered understandable with the World Cup on the horizon. The attacker has lit up the Emirates Stadium with her versatile style, movement, and finishing. Even at 31, she is the type of player who would walk into most WSL teams’ starting XI. In recent seasons, her appearances have increasingly come from the bench, but with the next World Cup in Brazil just a year away, it is logical that she will seek a club offering more minutes to stay in Sarina Wiegman’s England plans.
