Arsenal Women sign Simone Boye

Arsenal Women have announced the signing of Danish centerback Simone Boye from Bayern Munich. It’s the club’s third signing of the summer — Mana Iwabuchi and Nikita Parris were the other two. The moves signal a renewed (or perhaps it was always there) commitment to the squad, something that had come into a bit of question as the team and the results had started to stagnate with Manchester City and Chelsea seemingly distancing themselves from the Gunners.

Boye was an important piece of Bayern Munich’s Frauen-Bundesliga title winning squad this past season, and she played for new Arsenal coach Jonas Eidevall at FC Rosengard in Sweden a few seasons ago. With everyone healthy, Boye will likely be more of a backup / rotational option at centerback than a starter. But Eidevall has specifically spoken about the importance of depth, and the centerback situation to start the season is a bit dicey. Both Leah Williamson and Lotte Wubben-Moy are at the Olympics, and Jen Beattie is recovering from back surgery in May to address a long-term, nagging problem.

Said Eidevall of Boye on Arsenal.com, “Simone is an experienced defender who brings a strong attitude and mentality to the team on and off the pitch. I am sure that she will be a great fit to the squad and we are looking forward to working with her.”

And said Boye about coming to North London, “It feels really good to be here. I needed a new start and I’m grateful that Arsenal reached out to me. I’m very excited to get started. It’s been a while coming now so I’m looking forward to it.”

I’d expect to see Boye in the starting lineup when Arsenal take on Kazahk club Okzhetpes in the Champions League on August 18th.