Laura Wienroither: 10 Things you didn’t know | OneFootball

Laura Wienroither has joined Manchester City on loan for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign.

The Arsenal defender, a combative and tenacious full-back, signs on deadline day and will wear the number 13 shirt during her time at the Club.

She’s eligible to play for City in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, despite having already represented the Gunners in the group stages this season.

Here are ten things you may or may not know about our newest recruit…

Early start

Wienroither’s career in football began at the tender age of 15, when she broke into the senior side at Union Kleinmunchen.

The defender spent two seasons at her first club, before further spells at SV Neulengbach and St Polten in her native Austria.

Familiar foe

Laura has already faced City with two different teams in her career so far – Arsenal and St Polten.

The Austrian started for the Gunners in a League Cup semi-final clash back in 2023, and twice came off the bench in WSL encounters between the sides.

However, her first experience of facing her new team-mates came back in 2017/18, when she featured for St Polten in our UEFA Women’s Champions League Round of 32 tie.

City won both legs 3-0, going on to reach the semi-finals that year.

Silverware

Our new signing would eventually leave her home country in 2018 but enjoyed a memorable final season in Austria before moving to German side Hoffenheim.

Indeed, Wienroither helped St Polten – the team City faced in this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League group stages – claim a league and cup double as a teenager.

Senior recognition

Wienroither’s stock continued to rise after moving to Hoffenheim in 2018 and she was soon selected to represent Austria.

She made her debut as a 20-year-old in 2019 and has been a regular for her national team ever since.

The defender has made 35 international appearances so far, scoring twice.

WATCH: Wienroither excited for Miedema reunion

Gunning for glory

The 26-year-old joined Arsenal after impressing in a 4-1 Champions League win over the London side with Hoffenheim in December 2021.

Her debut came the following month against Manchester United in the League Cup, with the Gunners losing 1-0 to a late Alessia Russo goal.

Another first would come against our cross-city rivals though, with Wienroither’s first Arsenal goal being scored against United in the WSL the following season.

Euro Star

The 2022 European Championships captured the imagination of football fans across England, with 12 members of the victorious Lionesses squad spending at least some part of their careers at City.

They began that tournament with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Austria at Old Trafford, with Wienroither starting for the visiting team that day.

She would feature in three of her nation’s four matches at the tournament, as they qualified from the groups before being edged out by eventual finalists Germany in the knockout stages.

Setback

Our new recruit has had to deal with difficult moments in her career though, none more so than when she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in May 2023.

She sustained the injury in a UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final against a Wolfsburg side containing new team-mate Jill Roord.

A lengthy recovery process followed, but Wienroither would return 11 months later to help the Gunners beat Bristol City in the WSL.

The defender came on as a late substitute as Arsenal won 5-0, making a further four appearances before the end of the campaign.

Reunited

Wienroither’s move to City sees her join back up with former Arsenal team-mate Vivianne Miedema.

The pair spent two-and-a-half years together in North London, helping the Gunners win two League Cups in that time.

Both suffering ACL injuries at similar times, they also spent much of their rehabilitation process together. “I stayed with Viv [Miedema] after my surgery, she took me under her wing,” she explained.

“She [Miedema] took care of me when I needed help so we created a really, really good relationship. She always knew that she can count on me and I can count on her. And that hasn’t changed since she left [Arsenal].”

Therese influence

Our Austrian defender has also highlighted the important role Director of Football Therese Sjogran has played in her joining the Club.

She said: “I spoke a lot to Therese. I really like her as a human being, she gave me the opportunity to come here.

“She believes in me and trusts in me, and I think these were the factors which made me want to sign for City. I do really appreciate people trusting in me and believing in me that I can contribute and bring some quality to the team.”

Fantastic Four

Incredibly, Wienroither becomes only our fourth loan signing since becoming a professional outfit in 2014.

The first was Nikita Parris from Everton in 2015, before Carli Lloyd followed suit for the 2017 Spring Series.

Katie Startup’s emergency loan at the end of last season from Brighton was our most recent, before our new recruit agreed a move on deadline day.