Arsenal-bound midfielder receives MBE from King | OneFootball

The 27-year-old is set to join on a free transfer from Bayern Munich as Arsenal prepare to reshape their midfield.

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Georgia Stanway has received an MBE from the King at Windsor Castle for services to Association Football, just days before she is set to complete her move to Arsenal.

The 27-year-old midfielder is due to join Arsenal on a free transfer at the start of July when her contract with Bayern Munich expires, giving the Gunners another major addition to a midfield that already looks set for significant change this summer.

Stanway has been recognised after a four-year period in which she helped England win the 2022 and 2025 European Championships, as well as reaching the 2023 World Cup final.

She arrives in London as one of the best-known players in the women’s game, a Lioness regular and a midfielder with a profile that will make an immediate impact.

Arsenal’s move for Stanway makes obvious sense. She is free, at her peak playing age, brings international experience at the highest level and offers the aggression, running power and versatility that elite midfields now demand.

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She is primarily a box-to-box midfielder, but can also operate as a No 10 or wide forward, giving Arsenal more tactical flexibility across the middle and final third.

Her arrival also comes at an important point for Kim Little. The Arsenal captain signed a new deal a few months ago, but turns 35 in the coming days, and there is a clear logic to managing her minutes more carefully going forward.

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Stanway would not simply be a depth signing, she would be part of the succession planning in one of the most important areas of the pitch.

Geraldine Reuteler is also expected to join, with Arsenal’s midfield potentially reshaped around Reuteler, Mariona Caldentey and Stanway.

If that is how the summer develops, it would represent an excellent window for the Gunners in the centre of the pitch, adding quality, experience and different profiles rather than simply numbers.

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