Kim Little is increasingly entering Arsenal history: she is the third player in terms of number of appearances for the Gunners
“Take note of this little girl, she’s going to be a great player,” Arsenal manager Vic Akers told reporters after the match about the 17-year-old who had joined Arsenal a month earlier.
That evening, 24 April 2008, at the Emirates Stadium in front of more than 5 thousand spectators, Arsenal had won their fifth consecutive championship by beating Chelsea 4-1 and that still unknown girl had scored her first goal with the Gunners.
Akers, the legendary coach who led Arsenal Women to dominate at home and win the Champions League, had been right. That little girl was Kim Little, now captain of Arsenal and now also the third most capped player in the club’s history.
On 15 December 2024, against Liverpool, Little reached his 357th appearance for the Gunners. He thus separated Jayne Ludlow, now fourth with 356 appearances. In front of him, Little now only has Ciara Grant (403) and Emma Byrne (459).
The arrival at Arsenal
In 2008, Little was surprised by Akers’ call, but her potential was clear from a very young age. It was precisely in this period that Arsenal began to set their sights on her. “Her potential was evident when we first went to watch her play as a young girl for Hibs Girls,” Akers would later say, referring to the team she played for between 2005 and 2006.
The call from Arsenal came in March 2008, when the Scottish midfielder was playing for Hibernian Ladies. Little was a little girl and that Arernal was the Arsenal of the Invincibles that dominated at home with stars like Kelly Smith, Alex Scott and Rachel Yankey.
Little wore the Arsenal shirt in two different periods: from 2008 to 2013 and then from 2017 to today. In between he tried European experiences in the USA and Australia.
In her first spell in the Gunners shirt, the Scot played in a more advanced position than the one she usually occupies today. This is reflected in the statistics: between 2008 and 2013 he scored 81 goals in 94 games for Arsenal.
In the 2009-10 season with his 13 goals in the first 6 games of the season he almost made us forget the departure of the legendary Kelly Smith. “Kelly who? England’s best player, the now American resident Kelly Smith, has been replaced at Arsenal with such devastating effect by Scottish international Kim Little that the Gunners are almost never without their former star” wrote The Guardian in an article dated 11 October 2009.
Thanks to her performances and goals, she topped the league’s scoring charts in the 2009-10 (17 goals) and 2012 (11 goals) seasons and won the 2009-10 FA Players’ Player of the Year and PFA awards Women’s Players’ Player of the 2012-13.
During his first spell at Arsenal, Little won 11 trophies: 2 Premier League Championships (2008-09, 2009-10) and 2 WSL (2011 and 2012); a Premier League Cup (2008-09); 3 FA Cups (2008-09, 2010-11 and 2012-13) and 3 Continental Cups (2011, 2012 and 2013).
The then Arsenal number 16 scored in each of the 3 FA Cup finals played between 2009 and 2011:
- 2009: Arsenal-Sunderland 2-1
- 2010: Arsenal-Everton 2-3
- 2011: Arsenal-Bristol City 2-0
Little also scored in the first ever Continental Cup final. The Gunners won the 2011 final 1-0 with the Scot’s goal seven minutes into the 90th minute. The following season Little scored the second goal of a 2–0 win against Notts County, as well as assisting the opening goal.
In November 2013 Little decided to leave Arsenal to move overseas to play in the NWSL with Seattle Reign and in Australia with Melbourne City. However, some loves, as we know, go around immensely and then return. And so on 17 October 2016 the class of ’90 announced their return to Arsenal.
The return to Arsenal
Since January 2017 Little has officially been an Arsenal player, but her return to England was marked by several injuries that did not allow her to express herself at her best and with continuity. The now former Seattle Reign tore her ACL in training in May 2017, missing not only much of the following season, but also the European Championship in the Netherlands.
After the injury, Litte returned to the squad on 11 February 2018, for Arsenal-Yeovil Town 4-0. Seven days later she took to the pitch for the first time since breaking her cruciate in the FA Cup match Arsenal-London City Lionesses 1-0.
On 14 October 2018, while Arsenal won clearly against Chelsea 5-0, the Gunners lost their number 10 to a new injury. This time it was a fractured fibula, suffered due to a hard tackle by Drew Spence.
Little made his return to action in West Ham-Arsenal 2-4 on 6 January 2019. Despite the injury, the Scottish star contributed to the 2018-19 WSL victory with 8 goals in 14 league matches and was included in the PFA Team of the Year.
In 2021 Little achieved 3 important individual goals:
- 2 October 2021: Scores his 150th (and 151st) goal for Arsenal in the 4-0 win over Aston Villa
- 7 November 2021: Becomes the third player after Vivianne Miedema and Ellen White to reach 50 WSL goals with a brace in the 24-0 win over West Ham
- 21 November 2021: Reaches 100 WSL appearances for Arsenal in 2-0 win over Manchester United
Despite injuries, Little has always been a fundamental presence in midfield and with his leadership for the whole team since his return to the Gunners. Arriving in 2008, in the Arsenal of the Invincibles, in her second spell in London she had to deal with a different English football.
Chelsea and Manchester City have started to invest more and have closed the gap with Arsenal, who have struggled to win in recent years. Therefore, from 2017 onwards, Little has won little with the Gunners: one WSL (2018-19) and 3 Continental Cups (2018, 2023 and 2024).
Therefore, Little represents a bit of that link between an incredibly successful Arsenal with stars of the Smith, Scott and Yankey generation and a new Arsenal that is still looking for a new identity and to build a real winning cycle with players like Leah Williamson, Katie McCabe and Beth Mead.
Although with fewer trophies in her cabinet, Little in her second spell in London climbed the individual rankings for goals and appearances, reaching third place among the players with the most matches for Arsenal.
At 34, perhaps time is running out to achieve that unrealized dream declared in 2013: “Winning the Champions League with Arsenal”. Even if it never comes to fruition, that missed trophy certainly won’t make Little a less worthy player to enter the Olympus of Arsenal legends.
Martina Pozzoli
