'It breaks my heart' – legend Mead to leave Arsenal
Beth Mead said it "breaks her heart" to leave Arsenal after it was announced the forward will depart the club at the end of the season. The 31-year-old England international has scored 86 goals in 263 games for the Gunners since joining them from Sunderland in 2017. She has helped Arsenal win the Women's Champions League, Women's Super League, Fifa Champions Cup, and three League Cups in her time at the club.
It is understood London City Lionesses and Manchester City are interested in signing Mead, who was named player of the tournament and winner of the Golden Boot as she helped England win Euro 2022. While acknowledging the "unbelievable" on-field success she has experienced with Arsenal, Mead paid particular tribute to the support she received away from the football pitch, describing the club as the place "where I've grown up" and "felt a love and belonging" during struggles with homesickness, injury and bereavement. "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 called tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 2022 "one of the toughest challenges of my career" adding that "it was the team that got me through very dark day of rehab".
She said: "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 labelled Mead a "legend of the club" who will "go down in history as one of our best forwards".