The England star faces plenty of competition at the Gunners from Chloe Kelly, Olivia Smith and Caitlin Foord, but still has a big part to play
One can only imagine what Jocelyn Precheur, head coach of London City Lionesses, was thinking when Beth Mead came off the Arsenal bench last weekend and killed any chance of his team getting anything out of their first game in the Women's Super League. Just a few weeks prior, Precheur had spoken with the England forward about a potential move. Now, having decided to stay with the Gunners, here she was showing just why the club was interested, producing two assists within just 83 seconds of each other to put victory at the Emirates beyond doubt.
London City made a bigger splash in the summer transfer window than perhaps any other side in Europe – and certainly within England – by signing Grace Geyoro for a world-record fee on deadline day to cap several months of impressive business which had brought established names like Nikita Parris, Katie Zelem and Danielle van de Donk to the newly-promoted club. For a while, it looked like Mead would be added to that list, with the ambitious outfit, backed by the billions of Michele Kang, offering her a move that would surely bring with it more game time.
Off the back of a summer in which she largely played the role of substitute as England retained their European Championship crown, having also found herself on the Arsenal bench more often than not in the second half of last season, few would've questioned Mead's decision had she opted for a switch. But her incredibly impactful cameo on Saturday was evidence that she still has plenty to give in north London, as well as for England.
Getty ImagesCompetition for places
In some ways, Saturday's performance encapsulated Mead's 2025. Since Chloe Kelly's arrival at Arsenal at the end of the January transfer window, in a loan deal that would be made permanent this summer, the 30-year-old has struggled for consistent starts at club level.
Indeed, since Kelly's second Arsenal debut, Mead has started just six times for her club and has appeared as a substitute on eight further occasions. Kelly, meanwhile, has made 10 starts and three sub appearances. Only twice have the pair started together, with head coach Renee Slegers preferring to combine the two with the other wide options in her squad, rather than with each other.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMaking the most of minutes
Yet, despite her opportunities becoming more limited than she is used to, Mead has remained effective. She scored three goals and provided three assists in that period after Kelly's arrival last season, for an average of one direct goal contribution every 102 minutes, with the biggest of that half-dozen being her classy assist in the Champions League final, setting Stina Blackstenius up for the goal that made Arsenal champions of Europe.
Getty Images SportChanging roles
It was a similar story at Euro 2025. Mead went into that tournament with England as a starter, having featured from the get-go in each of the Lionesses' last five outings before the competition got underway in Switzerland. She'd justified her place, too, despite reduced minutes at Arsenal, producing three goals and two assists in that spell. When Sarina Wiegman picked her first XI of the tournament against France, Mead was in.
But it quickly became apparent that a change was needed to balance the England team out. After a flattering 2-1 loss in that opener, Wiegman moved Lauren James from the No.10 role to the right wing, meaning Mead dropped to the bench. Despite that, she would still play a crucial role in the Lionesses' second-successive continental triumph via impressive cameos off the bench throughout the knockout stages.
Getty Images'Tough club to walk away from'
No senior player ever really wants to be a super-sub, especially not one with Mead's pedigree. It thus made total sense for London City to try and prise her away from Arsenal this summer, with more minutes sure to give her a greater shot of returning to that England XI. But it was always going to be hard for her part ways with the club she has grown into a superstar with over the last eight years, especially when she didn't have to.
"It’s a tough club to walk away from," Mead told last week. "When you’ve been somewhere this long it holds a very precious place in your heart. I have another year left on my contract, I still think I’m more than good enough to compete and be able to play in this team and I know I bring something different."