American defender Emily Fox has signed for Arsenal Women, the most successful club in the history of the English league, where she will team up with two of her former teammates from the University of North Carolina.
“It feels amazing to have signed here,” said Fox. “When I think of Arsenal, I think of excellence, I think of a global organisation, I think of family. I think of pushing the standards of football and especially in the women’s game. It’s a huge honor to get the opportunity to represent this club and I’m excited to get started and play in front of our supporters.”
Right-back Fox has been hired through Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall to play in a position where he has struggled with players since Austrian foreigner Laura Weinroither suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in May. The club debuted this summer with the transfer of Brazilian captain Rafaelle Souza to Orlando Pride.
Eidevall said: “We are very pleased to bring Emily to Arsenal and I am sure our supporters will join me in welcoming her to our club. Emily has shown impressive progression over the past few seasons and her strengths in both stages will make her a vital addition to “
Fox made her first impression for the senior national team in 2018 but was undecided on the team that emerged victorious at the following year’s Women’s World Cup or the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He then replaced Kelley O’Hara on the team in a set game. on the team. At the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Fox started each and every match, betting the remaining six minutes of the tournament on the United States.
The 25-year-old Virginian will sign up for Arsenal alongside former University of North Carolina teammates Alessia Russo and Lotte Wubben-Moy, who began betting on the women’s soccer team, The Tar Heels, in their first year in 2017.
Fox, who was then playing as a midfielder, started the first 13 games of the season before suffering an ACL injury in November 2017, which sidelined her for the rest of the season.
He returned to play in 2018 alongside Russo and Wubben-Moy, even helping both score goals in successive seasons against Notre Dame. Fox also decided to play for the USA in the U20 Women’s World Cup, her second consecutive appearance in the tournament. Russo member of the England team.
Speaking in 2019, her coach at the University of North Carolina, former national team head coach Anson Dorrance picked Fox out for her exceptional speed and versatility. He described her as “one of the elite players on our roster who competed for a spot on the summer roster for U.S. Soccer in 2019. Her chief quality is remarkable speed.”
CHAPEL HILL, N. C. – NOVEMBER 16: University of North Carolina #11 Emily Fox celebrates her goal. . . [ ] with Lois Joel #27 a match between Belmont and North Carolina at the UNC Football and Lacrosse Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
“Emily has a wonderful technical quality. She has a good tactical game. She also has the versatility to play in the back if we need her, and in the flank midfield in a 3-4-3 formation if that’s the system we decide to go to. She can be a game-changer for us on the right side.”
At that stage, Wubben-Moy was already an Arsenal player and rejoined the club upon the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in 2020. Russo also forgoed her last year of college eligibility to return to England, signing her first professional contract with Manchester United in September 2020. Upon the expiry of her three-year contract there, she signed for Arsenal on a free transfer.
Fox’s move had been widely predicted. The club had even leaked a photo from their winter educational camp in Albufeira, Portugal, to the Getty Library, in which Fox can be seen in the background dressed in an Arsenal shirt. The club later deleted the photo.
Fox will follow in the footsteps of former Tar Heels Heather O’Reilly and Tobin Heath, who also moved to north London. O’Reilly joined FC Kansas City in January 2017 and played in the final of the Women’s FA Cup and won the FA Continental Cup with the club.
HIGH WYCOMBE, ENGLAND – MARCH 14: Arsenal’s Heather O’Reilly celebrates with the Continental Cup. . . [ ] Trophy after the match between Arsenal Women and Manchester City Ladies at Adams Park on 14 March 2018 in High Wycombe, England. (Photo via David Price/Arsenal FC Getty Images)
Heath signed for Arsenal in September 2021 after representing Manchester United last season, but injuries limited her to just nine appearances for the club. Fox is likely to decide on her new team in the Women’s FA Cup in Sunday’s draw at home to Watford FC. .
Clare Wheatley, Arsenal’s director of women’s football, said: “Emily is a seasoned foreign defender and we are very pleased to have brought her into our squad. Having spent time following Emily’s career to “Today, she has the whole team to integrate us into the environment here at Arsenal and make a wonderful contribution to achieving our goals. “