Laila Harbert Signs First Professional Contract With Arsenal FC.

Laila Harbert has officially put pen to paper to sign her first professional deal with

WSL side, Arsenal.

Joining the academy at nine years old in 2016, the 18 year old is a defensive midfielder and

has captained the England under-17s side. Her time at the Arsenal Academy has been a

successful one, winning numerous trophies with the under-16s and under-21s teams.

Her debut appearance for the first team came in May 2024 where she came on as a

substitute in the Gunners’ post-season match facing A-League All-Stars Women in

Melbourne. Laila was also selected to participate in their pre-season tour in Washington D.C

this summer, where she made an appearance in the 78th minute to help claim a 2-1 victory

against Washington Spirit.

Aswell as featuring for both Arsenal’s youth and first teams during her journey, Harbert spent

the 2023/24 season on dual registration with Watford. She gained valuable experience with

the Hornets and made 14 appearances for the Championship side.

Laila also has a wealth of experience on the youth international stage, but this past year in

particular has been an incredible one for her as Lionesses under-17s captain. In the

summer, Harbert captained her squad at the UEFA European Championships in Sweden

where they reached their first-ever final before unfortunately missing out on the title to Spain.

In October, she then guided the team to a fourth-place finish at the FIFA Women’s World

Cup, which took place in the Dominican Republic.

The young Gunner said: “It’s such a proud moment for me and my family to be able to put

pen to paper on a professional contract at a club that feels like home,”

“I joined Arsenal’s academy at such a young age so to be able to invest my future in a place

that I’ve grown up in is a special feeling”.

James Honeyman, Head of Player Development, added: “Laila has made her way up

through our academy to become part of the first-team squad, and we couldn’t be prouder of

her and the way she has developed. At Arsenal, one of our key focuses is to ensure that our

youth players have clear development pathways into first-team football, so to watch Laila

progress to the next level is a proud moment for all involved.”

Director of Women’s Football Clare Wheatley stated: “We’re thrilled that Laila has signed her

first professional contract with us. Laila has been a key part of our academy in the different

age groups and has made a great start to life around the first team, thanks to lots of hard

work and her dedicated attitude. We’re delighted to see another great prospect come

through our academy set-up and we look forward to seeing Laila continue to grow here.”

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