Lia Walti bids farewell to Arsenal fans at Emirates | OneFootball

Lia Walti of Arsenal Women. (Photo: Kunjan Malde for The FA)

Lia Walti said her final farewell to Arsenal fans at the Emirates ahead of their 2025-26 Women’s Super League season opener against London City Lionesses.

The midfielder has signed for Juventus after seven years with the Gunners.

And ahead of the match, Walti had a special reception on the pitch so that supporters and team-mates alike could express their appreciation for her contributions – which helped the club to a WSL title as well as a UEFA Women’s Champions League victory.

There was also an appearance from injured England captain Leah Williamson, who headed on to the pitch clutching the Champions League trophy, with her leg in a brace following knee surgery.

Arsenal fans had been encouraged to be in their seats in good time so that they could applaud both Walti’s time at the club as well as celebrate the Champions League win.

Lia Walti was incredibly valuable: Slegers

Head coach Renee Slegers had said in her pre-match press conference: “When I came to Arsenal, in my role as an individual development coach, she was one of the first players I got really close with because she invests a lot in her own game and in her own development.

“She started to send me messages and clips and wanted to review things. We very quickly built a strong relationship. I think that says everything about Wally.

“How she wants to take ownership of things and how self-reflective she is. She cares for everyone and everything. That’s a big, big strength and that’s of course a loss for the team.

“In a lot of things she could see the small details and she wants to see every single person and that’s a big strength of Wally. If you look at leadership and players, I think everyone carries leadership. If you look at the squad, that’s what she was bringing us off the pitch and that was really strong.

“That will be a loss for us but there are a lot of other personalities and strengths in the team as well who will pick that up. She was an incredibly valuable member of the squad.”