England u19 striker, Rianna Dean, will move from Arsenal very soon as her first team chances at the club remain limited with 10 forwards already queuing for places.
Dean is a victim of the high performance level needed to play first team football at the club and the lack of chances offered to young players unless they are exceptional like Leah Williamson or Lotte Wubben-Moy.
Rianna has been very successful with the Arsenal youth teams; winning the double with the u17 and the development team.
She matured and developed her game well during the 2016/17 season. But, to get a chance at first team level, sometimes luck needs to be involved (as seen with Anna Patten who got a chance through multiple injuries to senior defenders and performed exceptionally well throughout the whole Spring Series).
Although there were similar circumstances in the centre forward position at the beginning of the Spring Series, with Jodie Taylor not completing games and Bethany Mead not available through injuries, Rianna was never given a chance when she could have provided cover in that position considering her playing profile is very similar to Taylor.
It was also strange to see an unfit player on the bench for certain games rather than an in-form up-and-coming player, but in a way it did not matter as the club already had too many forwards competing for places.
At the end of the day Arsenal Ladies generally play with one lone striker and there will be three players vying for the position – Anna Miedema, Jodie Taylor and Bethany Mead.
There is no point in a 19-year-old stying at the club as it would simply hamper her development and she needs first team football.
Dean is expected to stay in London, most likely at a club in FA WSL2.
With Watford Ladies, London Bees, Millwall Lionesses and Tottenham Hotspurs playing at that level, there is no doubt that one of those teams will sign her in the near future.
Unless a FA WSL1 team makes an offer.
It is sad to see another talented youngster leave the club, but the first team level is so high that many homegrown players are not rated as good enough to play there.
Only the exceptional ones will be given a chance, mirroring what is happening with the men’s team.