Steph Catley signs new Arsenal deal | OneFootball

Steph Catley has signed a new contract with Arsenal, keeping one of the club’s most reliable players in north London at a time when several senior futures remain uncertain.

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The 32-year-old’s previous deal was due to expire in the summer, and while Arsenal have not confirmed the length of the new agreement, we understand it is believed to run for another two years.

Catley joined Arsenal from Melbourne City in July 2020 and has made 165 appearances for the club, scoring four goals.

Her time at Arsenal has already brought two League Cup titles, the UEFA Women’s Champions League and the FIFA Champions Cup. She was central to last season’s European success, starting all five knockout matches and helping Arsenal keep a clean sheet in the final victory over Barcelona.

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Catley’s 2024/25 season also brought wider recognition, with a Ballon d’Or nomination in 2025, while she was named Australia’s PFA Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2025, 2024 and 2020.

About her new deal, Catley said, “It feels amazing. There’s really nowhere else that I would rather be and it’s always nice to have that faith from the coach and from the club. It was an absolute no-brainer.

“It’s been a journey of many, many ups and downs. When I first came to the club, I think my first training session I got injured and then that whole season I was pretty much out, dealing with different injuries and felt very, very far away from home. Completely new team, new country, everything.

“So that was a really tough time but as you sort of settle into it and as I sort of settled into the club, I realised very quickly this was exactly where I was supposed to be and I feel myself growing as a person, as a player. The friendships that I’ve made, it’s definitely more like a family and I’ve never felt as much at home anywhere in the world other than my home that I have here.

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“That is one of the big sacrifices you make as an Australian footballer when you want to play overseas – that you are really, really far away and you can’t just drop home and hop in and see your family. So making those connections and feeling in your heart that you’re happy and you’re safe and the place that you’re at does feel like home is something very, very special and I think it’s rare in football.

“I don’t think many footballers can say that a club really does feel like home but for me that is definitely the case and I feel lucky to say that and I feel lucky to have the relationships that I do and the backing of the club as well to have me here.”

A senior Australia international for 14 years, Catley made her Matildas debut at 18 in June 2012 and has since won 123 caps, scoring five goals. She is also part of Australia’s captaincy group, helped her country reach the final of the 2026 Asian Cup and played a significant role in their run to the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup on home soil.

The timing of the deal matters for Arsenal. Katie McCabe is set to leave this summer, while Beth Mead is also out of contract, and, along with McCabe, looks like she could be off to Manchester City. Manu Zinsberger will also be leaving but Stina Blackstenius has signed a new deal. Caitlin Foord is also out of contract.

Arsenal are expected to bring in Ona Batlle, Georgia Stanway, Geraldine Reuteler and others as they look to reduce the age profile of the oldest squad in teh WSL.