Arsenal 19yo playmaker joins San Diego Wave

Arsenal 19yo playmaker joins San Diego Wave Laila Harbert’s departure from Arsenal is another reminder of how difficult it is for even the club’s brightest academy prospects to break into the first team. Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images As things stand, there are four senior players who came through the academy, Leah Williamson , Lotte Wubben-Moy , alongside Taylor Hinds and Chloe Kelly . The latter two left the club in their twenties before returning as established senior internationals. There are also two 20-year-old academy graduates recovering from ACL injuries who are expected to join the first-team squad later this season, Michelle Agyemang and Katie Reid . Six academy products in a 25-player squad is actually a healthy number, and exceeds UEFA ‘s Champions League homegrown requirements. UEFA requires eight association-trained players, including at least four club-trained players. Kim Little also qualifies as club-trained, having joined Arsenal at the age of 16. Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images Harbert is a deep-lying playmaker with a skill set reminiscent of Keira Walsh in the women’s game, or Cesc Fabregas and Andrea Pirlo on the men’s side. Technically excellent, she possesses an impressive range of short and medium passing, makes sharp decisions and is comfortable receiving the ball in tight spaces and under pressure. I remember watching her on several occasions in the open MD-1 UWCL training sessions when she was just 16. She never looked out of place, even during the intense two-touch 6x6x6 possession drills. She has also been a regular for England at youth level, captaining the Under-17 side at the World Cup and more recently leading the Under-20s as they prepare for the Under-20 World Cup in September. Her potential is obvious, and you would have expected Arsenal to view her as a long-term project in the same way they have with Michelle Agyemang and Katie Reid. The reality, however, is that opportunities were always going to be limited. Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images The arrivals of players such as Geraldine Reuteler and Georgia Stanway , alongside Kyra Cooney-Cross , Little and Mariona Caldentey , who can also operate in a double pivot, left little room for Harbert to develop through first-team minutes. It is a logical consequence of a club trying to win both the Champions League and the Women’s Super League , where ready-made quality is essential. I am also not convinced Renée Slegers was as eager to give Harbert an opportunity as Jonas Eidevall had been. It is therefore no surprise to see her join San Diego Wave , where she will be reunited with him, as well as Natalie Henderson , her former England youth coach. Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images for World Sevens Football Back in January 2026, Arsenal were struggling with injuries and could barely fill the bench, naming only five substitutes when they were permitted nine. Despite four matches arriving in quick succession, Harbert was available but did not make the matchday squad before departing on what proved to be a disappointing loan spell with Everton . She could certainly have been introduced from the bench in the Women’s Super League draw with Manchester United , the FA Cup victory over Aston Villa , or the Subway Cup defeat to Manchester United, particularly when Arsenal were trying to break down deep defensive blocks and lacked creativity. Harbert is not yet the finished article, but she has the attributes to become the sort of technical leader Little has been for Arsenal for so many years. It is disappointing that the club could not provide the pathway or minutes required for her development. Hopefully, San Diego Wave will do exactly that and help her fulfil the potential to become a top-class playmaker and, one day, a key player for the Lionesses . Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images