Vivianne Miedema knew that leaving Arsenal for Manchester City was not the easy option.
Not only was it a move that came with significant change on the pitch, off it, she was leaving behind everything she had built in the last seven years. Her partner Beth Mead and the puppy they share together, her own house, her friends and way of life.
Miedema has been open with how she has suffered from panic attacks and anxiety. Changes in lifestyle, and the uncertainty it creates, can often be a trigger for the symptoms people experience.
That is why Miedema believes it is important she, and others in football, speak openly about mental health and share how they are feeling.
‘It’s something that, especially in football and society, that’s not openly spoken about,’ Miedema tells Mail Sport.
Vivianne Miedema has spoken openly about leaving Arsenal to join rivals Man City
Miedema (right) had to leave behind her partner Beth Mead (right) to join her new club
Miedema has found it tough adapting to life away from Mead and the dog that they share
‘I know that me making this step, moving away from my home, my own house, comes with certain anxiety and difficulties.
‘I think as much as we always say we’re open for mental health and we do want to help each other out, but I think a lot of people are not capable or don’t feel comfortable enough to be honest about it.
‘If I can share my story, a lot of people will look up to me and will feel similar in situations. I’d like to take that responsibility and be there for them.
‘That comes with me having to go through it as well. Don’t get me wrong, I was at Arsenal for seven years. My whole life, it was all there. That has been really difficult and that still is really difficult and that might always stay really difficult.
‘There were a lot more easier options for me than moving to City. Me sharing how I feel will help other people out there to understand and realise they’re not alone in those feelings.
‘People see it as a weakness but it’s something really good and strong.
‘It also doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. You can struggle mentally and you can have a really difficult time, but you can still be successful too.’
Miedema made an instant return to Arsenal when City visited the Emirates on the opening day of the Women’s Super League season. The forward scored City’s first goal in a 2-2 draw but manager Gareth Taylor admitted Miedema had struggled with the build-up to the game.
‘It was always going to be an emotional and a special one.
‘I think if it had been later on in the season it always would have been something that you would probably look ahead to, but now it is out of the way.
Mead and Miedema met at Arsenal and thrived alongside each other on the pitch
But they played against each other last month when Miedema returned to the Emirates
‘I think the hardest bit was leaving the girls and the fans. You appreciate the people you’ve spent a lot of time with over the last couple of years.
‘But it’s been really nice to have a fresh start and I’ve been really enjoying it. As a player and as a person I needed that.’
Miedema leaving Arsenal was also difficult for Myle, the puppy she shares with Mead. Myle featured in the forward’s announcement video when she joined City in July, but Miedema insists: ‘She’s not an Arsenal fan, she’s not a City fan, she just loves her mummies!
‘At the moment she’s staying down with Beth a lot because everything is settled there and she knows the place. But she will be here quite a bit too.’
Miedema, who is the WSL’s all-time leading goalscorer, admits her recovery from the ACL injury she sustained in December 2022 has not been a straightforward journey.
‘There’s times and games where I feel really good and I definitely feel like I’m up to my level. It’s a process of trying to trust your body again. It’s very easy to say “you’re signed off, you’re fit” – but that’s just on paper. I’ve had set-backs along the way. At times, I do feel like me. Then at other times I know it’s different. Even now, there’s still slight adjustments we need to make.’
This brings us to player welfare and fixture scheduling. City are one of three English teams to qualify for the Champions League group stage and we have already seen the difficulties that can come with that. Chelsea’s WSL game with Manchester United was due to take place on Sunday but has been postponed because UEFA scheduled the Blues’ fixture with Real Madrid for two days later.
So, do players feel there is too much talk and not enough action? ‘It [change] is way too slow,’ Miedema says.
Miedema suffered an ACL injury while playing for Arsenal in 2022
The Netherlands star has had to patiently work her way back to full fitness over the last two years
‘It’s something, especially in women’s football, we’ve been shouting about for years. It’s not about not wanting to play the games. People can easily turn around and be like “why do you not want to be a professional footballer? Why do you not want to play more games?”
‘But if you put everything together and look at the physical and the mental health that we are put in, it’s dangerous. It’s going to lead to, not just physical injuries but also mental health issues. If we don’t start taking care of our players right now, I don’t know when it will be the right time.
‘We see players, left, right and centre falling out with big injuries. They’re probably burned out, they’re not fresh to play football. As football fans, you always want your best players on the pitch. The way football is going right now, that’s not going to happen.’
Fixture congestion has been mooted as one of many possible causes for the high number of ACL injuries female players have sustained in recent years. FIFA, Fifpro and other bodies are all involved in research, but Miedema says: ‘It’s not going to give us the answers straight away.
‘It’s good there’s research, the bad thing is so many different entities are doing similar or the same instead of putting everyone together and a bigger plan in place.
‘It’s up to the governing bodies to decide when we can play games and how we should put the calendar together.
‘If you look at FIFA and UEFA trying to fight for as many games as they can, that’s at the disadvantage of players. Of course we’re always going to be needing research to make that next step. But I think for now, a quick and an easy fix is to listen to your players.
‘To put at least two periods of no football within a year and to cap the amount of games that someone can play.’
Miedema’s former Arsenal manager Joe Montemurro often suggested she could go into management when she finishes playing. ‘I love Joe, I am doing my UEFA A right now,’ she says.
Miedema has called on football authorities to listen to player concerns over fixture congestion
But listening to the forward speak, it is clear she could be an asset in a boardroom role.
‘I do think there’s a lot of other things in football that needs to be fixed that I can play a role in.
‘It would have to be something where I feel like I’m actually allowed to make a change. We’ve got a lot of positions within governing bodies that probably have the right people, but they don’t have the movement to actually do what they should be doing.
‘I also can’t promise that I am going to stay within football because in the end, it is sometimes amazing, sometimes mentally draining. But I definitely won’t struggle finding something to do!’