Kim Little has signed a new Arsenal contract, ensuring the club captain will remain in north London as the women’s side prepare for what is expected to be a significant summer of change.
The new deal extends the stay of a player whose connection with Arsenal stretches back almost 20 years until the end of next season.
Little, now 35, first joined the club in 2008 and, after spells with Seattle Reign and Melbourne City, returned in 2017 to resume a career that has long placed her among the most important figures in Arsenal Women’s history.
Few players have matched her standing at the club. Over two spells, Little has helped lead Arsenal to multiple Women’s Super League, FA Cup and League Cup titles as well as the Champion League, making her one of the defining players of the modern era.
Her wider honours reflect that status. Little was named PFA Player of the Year in 2013, BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2016 and has been included in the PFA Team of the Year on four occasions. In 2023, she was awarded an MBE for services to football in the New Year Honours List.
Arsenal are expected to face a major reshaping of the squad this summer, with several senior players, including Katie McCabe, set to leave. Against that backdrop, securing Little’s future gives the club continuity in a dressing room that may otherwise look very different by the start of next season.
It is only a one-year extension, but the message behind it is clear enough. Arsenal are keeping hold of a captain who remains central to the identity of the side, and whose presence will matter all the more in a period of transition.
Little turns 36 in June.