# Vivianne Miedema
**Vivianne Miedema** is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester City and the Netherlands, and who is the all-time leading goal scorer in the [Women's Super League](https://www.edgepedia.org/womens-super-league) (WSL), the top flight of English women's football[1](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/football/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-birmingham-dutch-wsl-b2029735.html). She is also the Netherlands' record scorer across both the men's and women's senior teams, with 95 international goals[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position and clubs | Forward; Arsenal 2017 to 2024, Manchester City from summer 2024[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts) • [3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/after-seven-years-at-arsenal-i-wanted-to-help-man-city-win-vivianne-miedema-on-transfer-motivation-and-wsl-growth) |
| Arsenal record | 125 goals and 50 assists in 172 appearances in all competitions over seven seasons[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts) |
| WSL scoring record | Became the league's all-time top scorer in 2020, in 60 fewer games than the previous record holder, Nikita Parris[4](https://dougslangandlit.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2020-worlds-best-male-and-female-players.pdf) |
| Netherlands record | 95 goals for the Dutch national team, the country's leading scorer across men's and women's senior teams[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts) |
| Major injuries | Ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament in December 2022, missing almost 18 months; knee operation in June 2026; a further knee injury in September 2026 that is not an ACL injury[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts) • [5](https://www.mancity.com/news/womens/vivianne-miedema-statement-man-city-63916540) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/03/wsl-transfer-deadline-day-arsenal-elisa-de-almeida-psg) |
| Honors | WSL titles with Arsenal in 2019 and with Manchester City in 2025/26, plus the 2026 FA Cup, giving a domestic double[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/after-seven-years-at-arsenal-i-wanted-to-help-man-city-win-vivianne-miedema-on-transfer-motivation-and-wsl-growth) • [5](https://www.mancity.com/news/womens/vivianne-miedema-statement-man-city-63916540) |
| Contract | Manchester City triggered a one-year option in February 2026, keeping her at the club until 2027[7](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c9dn6j3xpqlo) |
## Early career
Miedema signed her first professional contract at 14 with Heerenveen in the Netherlands, and she broke through with the Netherlands Under-17 side before moving to England[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts).
## Arsenal, 2017 to 2024
Miedema joined Arsenal during 2017 and spent seven seasons with the club[1](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/football/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-birmingham-dutch-wsl-b2029735.html). In March 2022 she reached 100 WSL goal contributions, taking her league tally to 70 goals and 30 assists in a 4-2 win over Birmingham City[1](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/football/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-birmingham-dutch-wsl-b2029735.html). By the time she left, her Arsenal record stood at 125 goals and 50 assists in 172 appearances in all competitions[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts).
**Record breaking.** She became the WSL's all-time top scorer in 2020, after three years in the league, when a hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur took her past [Nikita Parris](https://www.edgepedia.org/nikita-parris) in 60 fewer games[4](https://dougslangandlit.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2020-worlds-best-male-and-female-players.pdf). She has held the record ever since, despite an absence of almost 18 months through injury[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts). In the two seasons before 2021 she was the league's top scorer in each[8](https://shekicks.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Opta-Special-Ten-years-of-the-Barclays-FA-Womens-Super-League.pdf).
**Departure.** In May 2024 Arsenal announced she would leave at the end of her contract, on a free transfer, in a decision understood to be the club's rather than the player's[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts). The Guardian's report noted that coach Jonas Eidevall had moved her from central striker to a number 10 role and had not built the squad around her, and that her contract was allowed to run out despite her record[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts).
## Manchester City, from 2024
Miedema joined Manchester City in the summer of 2024, saying she wanted to help the club win after seven years at Arsenal[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/after-seven-years-at-arsenal-i-wanted-to-help-man-city-win-vivianne-miedema-on-transfer-motivation-and-wsl-growth). Her first season was affected by injury[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/after-seven-years-at-arsenal-i-wanted-to-help-man-city-win-vivianne-miedema-on-transfer-motivation-and-wsl-growth).
In 2025/26 she scored 14 goals and provided 5 assists across all competitions, including the final goal in City's 4-0 [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup) final win over Brighton & Hove Albion[5](https://www.mancity.com/news/womens/vivianne-miedema-statement-man-city-63916540). City won the WSL under new manager Andree Jeglertz, their first league title since 2016, breaking Chelsea's six-year winning streak, and completed a domestic double with the FA Cup[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/after-seven-years-at-arsenal-i-wanted-to-help-man-city-win-vivianne-miedema-on-transfer-motivation-and-wsl-growth) • [5](https://www.mancity.com/news/womens/vivianne-miedema-statement-man-city-63916540). It was Miedema's second WSL title, after the 2019 title with Arsenal[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/after-seven-years-at-arsenal-i-wanted-to-help-man-city-win-vivianne-miedema-on-transfer-motivation-and-wsl-growth).
In February 2026 the club triggered a one-year option in her contract, keeping her until 2027[7](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c9dn6j3xpqlo).
## Injuries
Miedema ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in December 2022, and her comeback was slower than that of many teammates with the same injury; she was out for almost 18 months[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts). She and [Beth Mead](https://www.edgepedia.org/beth-mead), who also recovered from an ACL injury, filmed their rehabilitations for a documentary that pushed for more research and resources on understanding, prevention, and rehabilitation of the injury[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts).
In June 2026 Manchester City confirmed she had undergone a successful knee operation, with a view to returning for pre-season ahead of the 2026/27 campaign[5](https://www.mancity.com/news/womens/vivianne-miedema-statement-man-city-63916540). In September 2026 the Guardian reported that she had sustained a further knee injury, understood not to be an anterior cruciate ligament injury but serious, and that City could be without her for at least the rest of 2026[6](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/03/wsl-transfer-deadline-day-arsenal-elisa-de-almeida-psg).
## International career
Miedema is the Netherlands' all-time leading scorer, with 95 goals for the senior national team, a record that spans both the men's and women's teams[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts). At the 2025 European Championship she spoke publicly about workload in the women's game, suggesting that too many games lead to more injuries, in a tournament where several players withdrew through exhaustion[9](https://apnews.com/article/ecb724ff1b26bea9ec488d80ce818fc4).
## Playing style and measures
Miedema is described as a versatile forward who sees the game ahead of her, and her contribution extends beyond scoring: she registered 50 assists in her Arsenal years[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts). Her WSL shot conversion rate, the share of her shots that become goals, is 17.4 percent, below Khadija Shaw's 1.08 goals per 90 minutes career rate but above [Stina Blackstenius](https://www.edgepedia.org/stina-blackstenius) (16.4 percent) and [Alessia Russo](https://www.edgepedia.org/alessia-russo) (14.4 percent)[10](https://theanalyst.com/articles/bunny-shaw-greatest-striker-wsl-history).
Her partnership with Beth Mead, her teammate at Arsenal and at Manchester City, is the most prolific in BWSL history: Mead has assisted 12 of Miedema's league goals[11](https://www.wslfootball.com/news/fantasy-one-to-watch-vivianne-miedema). In the WSL's official fantasy game for the 2026/27 season she is priced at £9.0m, the third-most expensive player behind Shaw and Russo, after finishing the 2025/26 season with 134 fantasy points, ninth overall and third among forwards[11](https://www.wslfootball.com/news/fantasy-one-to-watch-vivianne-miedema).
## References
1. [Vivianne Miedema hits WSL milestone as Arsenal beat Birmingham, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/football/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-birmingham-dutch-wsl-b2029735.html)
2. [Why did Arsenal let Vivianne Miedema leave on a free at 27?, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/16/arsenal-vivianne-miedema-leave-free-moving-the-goalposts)
3. ['After seven years at Arsenal, I wanted to help Man City win', FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/after-seven-years-at-arsenal-i-wanted-to-help-man-city-win-vivianne-miedema-on-transfer-motivation-and-wsl-growth)
4. [Best Players 2020 feature (WSL all-time top scorer milestone)](https://dougslangandlit.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2020-worlds-best-male-and-female-players.pdf)
5. [Club statement: Vivianne Miedema, Manchester City FC](https://www.mancity.com/news/womens/vivianne-miedema-statement-man-city-63916540)
6. [Manchester City's Vivianne Miedema could miss rest of year with knee injury, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/03/wsl-transfer-deadline-day-arsenal-elisa-de-almeida-psg)
7. [Man City news: Vivianne Miedema contract option triggered, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c9dn6j3xpqlo)
8. [Opta Special: Ten years of the Barclays FA Women's Super League, SheKicks](https://shekicks.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Opta-Special-Ten-years-of-the-Barclays-FA-Womens-Super-League.pdf)
9. [More competitions, longer seasons and other demands put focus on workload in elite women's soccer, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/ecb724ff1b26bea9ec488d80ce818fc4)
10. [Is Bunny Shaw the Greatest Striker in WSL History?, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/articles/bunny-shaw-greatest-striker-wsl-history)
11. [Fantasy One to Watch: Vivianne Miedema, WSL Football](https://www.wslfootball.com/news/fantasy-one-to-watch-vivianne-miedema)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Women's footballers › Surnames M to Y*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license