Victoria Pelova’s unfortunate ACL injury will leave a significant void in Arsenal Women’s midfield.

With the Dutch international sidelined for an extended period, the Gunners must now assess their options to fill the gap.

From promoting young talents to exploring potential transfers, Arsenal’s midfield strategy will be under scrutiny as they navigate this unexpected setback.

BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND - MAY 18: Vivianne Miedema of Arsenal scores her team's third goal with teammates Victoria Pelova and Frida Maanum during the Barclays Women´s Super League match between Arsenal FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at Meadow Park on May 18, 2024 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND – MAY 18: Vivianne Miedema of Arsenal scores her team’s third goal with teammates Victoria Pelova and Frida Maanum during the Barclays Women´s Super League match between Arsenal FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at Meadow Park on May 18, 2024 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Victoria Pelova is the latest victim of the dreaded ACL injury and her long term absence leaves a big hole in Arsenal’s midfield.

Tactically, Arsenal plays either in 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 system with a double pivot in central midfield. Pelova established herself as a starter in that double pivot.

There are now four players available right now to play in the double pivot: two experienced players Kim Little and Lia Wälti and two younger up-and-coming full internationals Kyra Cooney-Cross and Kathrine Kühl.

In theory, it should not be a problem to complete a full season with four senior players. But unfortunately, we know that Kim Little and Lia Wälti tend to get injured during the season and miss a certain number of games. That means Kyra Cooney-Cross and Kathrine Kühl will get a lot of games next season either as starters or subs.

This is not a problem as they are both top quality players.

BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 11: Jess Park of Manchester City battles for possession with Kyra Cooney-Cross of Arsenal during the Adobe Women's FA Cup Fifth Round match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Meadow Park on February 11, 2024 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 11: Jess Park of Manchester City battles for possession with Kyra Cooney-Cross of Arsenal during the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Fifth Round match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Meadow Park on February 11, 2024 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

In that context, signing a midfielder would be a good idea, depending on what kind of profile Arsenla would sign. It would be a great idea to sign Aitana Bonmati, Lena Oberdorf or Grace Geyoro. Any player of that calibre would get straight into the starting XI and add depth to the squad.

A less interesting option would be to sign a player to be used as a rotation player, among the free agents or out-of-contract-soons would be Aimee Palmer, Lucy Staniforth, Katie Zelem, Drew Spence, Rachel Furness or Ruby Mace.

A short term solution would not be sensible for me, except for Ruby Mace as she is a former player, still young and she can play at DM, CB, LB and RB.

But considering, she spent three years at Manchester City without getting much game time, I would be surprised to see her come back to be a rotation player. She has been a regular for England u-23 at defensive midfield, playing nearly as many minutes with England as with Manchester City.

The other option would be to promote the recent u-17 Euros finalist and England captain Laila Harbert and make her the fifth choice in central midfield. Although interesting, that option would probably hamper her development, unless she does a Cesc Fabregas and overtakes the other players in the queue.

That is unlikely but she has such huge potential. I would say she will compete for a place during the 2025/26 season after a full season loan in a WSL side.

There is also the internal option with two centre-backs who could be moved to central midfield as the last resort. Lotte Wubben-Moy, considering she will be a starter at centre-back, is not a likely option. The other option is Teyah Goldie, who has played in central midfield for the Academy team and would be far back in the pecking order at centre-back.

Overall, I would not expect to see a signing in midfield except if a big opportunity comes the club’s way.