Interview Arsenal exit felt like break-up – but now I have point to prove at City
Beth Mead on her reasons for leaving the Emirates after 10 years – and why move comes with Wiegman’s approval
Beth Mead called Arsenal “home” for 10 years. After all, north London is all the Whitby-born England international has known since she was 21, when she joined Arsenal from Sunderland.
Now Mead is pursuing a new challenge at Manchester City, the Women’s Super League champions, after she and Arsenal mutually decided it was best for her to move on at the end of last season. Talks over a new Arsenal deal took place, with the club open to her staying in an adapted first-team role, which meant a shorter contract and potentially less game time, but City’s offer provided greater longterm security.
Mead is excited about this fresh start, but it did not make saying goodbye any easier.
“It’s been an emotional few months, knowing it [the move] was coming,” Mead says. “I understand fans may get annoyed and upset but it’s football, it’s business, it’s just how it is.
“I think there are little things people under-appreciate when you’re not in football: taking my stuff out of the locker for the last time, being on the pitch for the last training session, going in the gym and knowing you’re not going to come in here as a player anymore.
“Being able to say goodbye and have a great send-off was amazing. When I step into pre-season at City, I think that’s probably when it’ll hit me that I’m not going to go back to the place that I’ve known as home for the last 10 years.”
Mead’s partner, Vivianne Miedema, made the same switch from Arsenal to City in 2024 and will be of support, having experienced the same emotions. Mead can now appreciate how difficult it was for the Dutch forward to return to north London for the first time.
“There are still things that are probably going to hit me,” she says. “The first time playing at the Emirates and turning right at the end of the tunnel instead of turning left into the Arsenal changing room, hearing North London Forever playing.
“I remember the first time Viv had to play there and seeing how emotional she was, I probably underestimated how hard that was for her and now I’m going to have to do it myself.
“It’s those first times after something... It feels like a break-up. I’m also very happy and excited about the other side of it, but it comes with a lot of emotions.”
City completed a WSL and FA Cup double in manager Andrée Jeglertz’s first season in charge. Players have spoken highly of
Jeglertz and the Swedish coach was one of the main reasons Mead chose City over other clubs.
“I had plenty of options but I think City is a team that has always stood out to me. I had a very good conversation with Andrée about how he sees me in the team. Women’s football talks and you hear good and bad things about people, but not one person I’ve spoken to has had a bad word to say about him.
“I play my best football when I’m free and I’m happy and I have the ability to try and pick apart games. I think that’s one of the things, now I’m getting a bit older, that has become a super strength, instead of someone thinking I’m gonna pelt about like a 21-year-old Beth.
“You have to adapt your game to what it looks like now and I think he will get the best out of
what I look like as a player right now.”
There is also an element of Mead having “a point to prove”. The forward is 31 years old and one of the reasons for her Arsenal departure was the club’s desire to bring down the average age of their squad. But Mead believes she still has plenty to offer on and off the pitch. “When there’s adversity and when people doubt me, that helps me,” she says. “There are some amazing players at City, I’m not going in with the expectation to play every single minute every week. But I will do my best to be competitive. “It’s exciting but it comes with the pressure of stepping up. That the WSL champions have signed me gives me a point to prove as well.”
Mead spoke with Sarina Wiegman, the England manager, before the move. Having missed the 2023 World Cup because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury, the forward is desperate
to be part of Wiegman’s squad in Brazil next summer, should the Lionesses come through their playoff qualifiers this year. “It’s something you have to think about but don’t want to jinx. I had conversations with Sarina around how the move looked for her and she was excited for me.
“I missed the World Cup in Australia with my ACL, it was very hard to sit and watch from home and not be able to help in any capacity.
‘You hear things about people in women’s football – but not one person I spoke to had a bad word for Andree’
Touch wood, we get through the play-offs and play in a World Cup in Brazil, which is pretty exciting to think about.”
Mead is speaking at a Mcdonald’s Fun Football event, in partnership with Access Sport, which showcases how coaches can ensure inclusivity and accessibility across their sessions.
Mead has been an ambassador since the Lionesses won the 2022 European Championship and there has subsequently been a 60 per
cent increase in girls participating in sessions.
“It’s nice to know that these girls have the idols and the access to be a professional footballer and that it is a realistic dream these days,” Mead says. “I get a lot of pride being able to give back and inspire the next generation. I don’t think that feeling will ever get old.”
While Mead believes she still has several years left at the top of the game, the launch of her podcast, The Beth Mead Show, has given her a chance to think about life after football.
“I’ve really enjoyed speaking to people, learning different things about people from different walks of life. Hopefully people have seen a different side of me that’s not always seen on a football pitch.”
Mead’s dream podcast guests? “I love Dua Lipa. I’d also love to pick Roy Keane’s brain and see what he has to say about different things,” she says, before laughing at the stark contrast between the two.
With a new club, new podcast and a potential World Cup on the horizon, there is plenty for Mead to be excited about as she closes one chapter and prepares to open another.