Could young Spanish international replace Arsenal Women’s Rafaelle at left centre-back? by Michelle
We reported earlier this month that Arsenal Women have 21 year old Spanish international, Paula Tomas, on their radar. With the recent announcement that Brazil Women’s captain Rafaelle is leaving Arsenal, for Orlando Pride, coming on the back of recent ACL injuries suffered by Arsenal defenders Leah Williamson and Laura Wienroither, in my opinion, there are two key areas where Arsenal’s need for depth and quality is especially crucial now – the left centre-back position and the forward line.
Of Arsenal Women’s 8 first-team defenders, Rafaelle is leaving and Leah Williamson and Laura Wienroither will be unlikely to return to the pitch before the 2nd half of the 2023-24 season – leaving our Gunners with 5 first-team defenders..
Arsenal surely must be looking to bring Anna Patten back into the fold after her loan-spell at Aston Villa? The return of Anna would also add another ‘homegrown’ player to the Arsenal Women ranks. But Aston Villa are reported to be interested in offering the Arsenal defender a permanent contract.
We also recently identified 3 worthy defenders that could replace Rafaelle.
One thing is for sure, Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall was already expecting to be very active in the summer transfer window, looking to secure some front-line fire power. He will also now be looking closely at his defensive line. Arsenal, alongside Manchester United, had one of the best defensive records in the WSL this season – Eidevall will not want to lose that and 21 year old Paula Tomas just might be a great addition to Arsenal’s back-line. What do you think?
COYGW!!
Michelle Maxwell
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