Arsenal Women have bolstered their goalkeeping department with the signing of French veteran Sarah Bouhaddi on a short-term deal.
The 37-year-old arrives in North London to provide backup and competition to Jonas Eidevall's existing options in between the sticks and becomes their second signing of the January window after American defender Emily Fox.
Bouhaddi joins as a free agent to compete with Manuela Zinsberger, Sabrina D'Angelo, Kaylan Marckese and Naomi Williams for minutes in goal, and she arrives with an extensive CV from a glittering career in French football.
Bouhaddi represented Lyon for 13 years between 2009 and 2022, during which time she won a staggering 27 major honours, including 11 Division 1 Feminine titles, eight Women's Champions Leagues and eight Coupe de France Feminine crowns.
Thanks to her remarkable feats with Les Fenottes, Bouhaddi was named the IFFHS World's Best Woman Goalkeeper three years running from 2016 to 2018 and also collected The Best FIFA Goalkeeper prize for 2020.
After 273 games in between the posts for Lyon, whom she also scored one goal for in the 2014-15 French top-flight season, Bouhaddi joined Paris Saint-Germain for the 2022-23 campaign, playing 24 times for the capital giants and keeping 12 clean sheets.
Welcome to The Arsenal, Sarah Bouhaddi ✍️
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) January 30, 2024
We are delighted to confirm the signing of the French goalkeeper on a short-term deal.
"I'm delighted to be joining Arsenal and to become part of this great club. Arsenal has so much history across both the men's and women's teams and I've always admired the club," Bouhaddi told the official Arsenal website.
"I'm excited to get the opportunity to play in a league that is going from strength to strength and I want to bring my experience to help the rest of the squad. I can't wait to get started."
Head coach Eidevall hailed the Frenchwoman as one of the world's most well-versed players in her position: "We're really pleased to bring Sarah to Arsenal to help us over the coming weeks.
"There aren't many goalkeepers in world football with the breadth of experience and knowledge that Sarah has, so we're delighted to bring her in to supplement our goalkeeping options."
Finally, Director of Women's Football Clare Wheatley said: "Sarah is a vastly experienced international goalkeeper and we are very pleased that she was available to join us on this short-term deal. She has a proven track record at the highest level of the game and we believe she is the perfect player to come in for this period."
Bouhaddi also sits ninth in France Women's all-time appearance list with 149 caps from 2004 to 2020, and the 37-year-old won the SheBelieves Cup with her nation in 2017.
Ben Knapton
