If there is one thing that Vivianne Miedema is associated with, it is scoring goals. The 25-year-old has broken goal-scoring records all over Europe and is currently the all-time Dutch top scorer as well as the all-time Women’s Super League top scorer.
Miedema will be hoping to continue her form to help the Netherlands win their second successive European Championship at the Women's Euro 2022.
Vivianne Miedema: who does she play for?
Vivianne Miedema has played for Arsenal since 2017. In that time, she has scored 74 goals in 89 games for the club, as well as helping them win the WSL title in 2018/19 and the Continental Cup in 2017/18. Prior to moving to Arsenal she played in the Frauen-Bundesliga for Bayern Munich where she twice won the league, and in The Netherlands for SC Heerenveen.
Miedema was the subject of much transfer interest this summer, with a rumoured move to Barcelona supposedly on the cards. However, at the last minute, she decided to sign a new contract with Arsenal and stay in England.
Vivianne Miedema: what position does she play?
Vivianne Miedema came to attention playing as a traditional striker, but has always insisted that she prefers playing as a number 10. Miedema is well-known for dropping deeper to link up play but her goal-scoring ability has meant that many managers have preferred to use her up front.
That has changed recently at club level, with Arsenal coach Jonas Eidevall using her as a No.10 for the second half of this season. Indeed, that was one of the reasons why Miedema decided to stay at the club, whereas if she had moved to Barcelona she would have been in direct competition with Alexia Putellas to play in her preferred role.
In the Dutch national team, however, she still plays as a central striker.
Vivianne Miedema: what has she achieved with the Netherlands?
The Netherlands’ successes on the international stage have coincided with Miedema’s rise to stardom. She first made her debut in September 2013, with her first goals at senior international level being a 16-minute hattrick against Portugal in World Cup Qualifying.
Her goals helped the Netherlands qualify for their first ever World Cup in 2015, but she struggled with the pressure at the tournament itself, revealing recently that she almost quit football after her experiences there.
She had no such issues at her home Euros in 2017, where she scored four goals to help the Netherlands lift their first ever international trophy. She was similarly prolific at the 2019 World Cup where her three goals saw the Netherlands reach the final where they lost to the USA. At the 2021 Olympics, Miedema scored 10 goals in only four games to set a record for the highest number of goals scored at a single Olympics. However, she did miss a penalty in their crucial quarter-final shoot-out against the USA to exit the competition.
