Rosa Kafaji’s Arsenal chapter is over. The Swedish forward has completed a permanent move to London City Lionesses on a three-year deal, ending a two-year stint in north London that never quite caught fire.
It’s a move that tells two stories. One’s about a talented 23-year-old chasing regular football. The other? It’s about a Bromley-based club assembling a squad that would make most Champions League sides nervous.
A Promising Start That Fizzled Out
Kafaji arrived at Arsenal in August 2024 from BK Hacken with serious pedigree. UEFA had named her one of ten players to watch that year. She’d scored 24 goals in 51 appearances for Hacken and earned senior caps for Sweden before her 22nd birthday.
But timing wasn’t on her side.
Jonas Eidevall, the manager who signed her, left the club just weeks into the season. His successor, Renee Slegers, built a Champions League-winning side — one Kafaji was part of — but opportunities were scarce.
She made just 19 appearances across the 2024-25 campaign, scoring once in a 2-0 win at West Ham. An ankle injury then ruled her out of the Champions League final and Sweden’s Euro 2025 squad.
A loan to Brighton followed for 2025-26. She featured 26 times for the Seagulls, scored twice, and helped them reach the FA Cup final. Decent numbers, but not enough to force her way back into Slegers’ plans.
As Arseblog’s Tim Stillman put it: “Since Renee Slegers took the reins, Kafaji has not really had a look in and I wouldn’t expect that to change now.”
Why London City Makes Sense
So why the Lionesses? Have a look at what Michele Kang has been building in southeast London and the answer becomes pretty obvious.
London City finished sixth in their debut WSL season. Their response? Sign half a European all-star team. The summer arrivals so far include:
- Alexia Putellas, two-time Ballon d’Or winner, from Barcelona
- Kadidiatou Diani from Lyon for a fee reportedly exceeding £500,000
- Mapi Leon, widely considered one of the world’s best centre-backs
- Mary Earps, England’s former number one goalkeeper
- Nicole Anyomi, who bagged 13 goals in 20 Bundesliga starts last season
Kafaji joins that group alongside former Arsenal teammates Freya Godfrey and Danielle van de Donk, plus Swedish captain Kosovare Asllani.
She told the Lionesses’ website: “I think this is a club that has high ambitions to become one of the best teams in the world, and I want to be a part of that.”
Can you blame her?
For a forward who needs regular minutes, walking into an attacking unit that ambitious — yet still developing its chemistry — offers real opportunity. With Asllani injured and unlikely to return at full capacity at 36, Kafaji could step into the playmaker role she was tipped to inherit at international level.
What It Means for Arsenal’s Summer Rebuild
Kafaji’s departure is one piece of a much bigger puzzle at Arsenal. The Gunners have had a busy window on both sides of the ledger.
Slegers has brought in Georgia Stanway from Bayern Munich, Ona Batlle from Barcelona, Selina Cerci from Hoffenheim, Geraldine Reuteler from Eintracht Frankfurt, and teenage forward Lisa Baum from RB Leipzig.
But the outgoings have been significant too. Beth Mead joined Manchester City. Katie McCabe left for Chelsea. Manuela Zinsberger moved to Borussia Dortmund. Victoria Pelova signed for Tottenham.
With Reuteler and Baum now occupying the attacking spaces Kafaji might have filled, her path at the Emirates was blocked. A clean break suits everyone.
She leaves north London with a Champions League winner’s medal and 19 appearances. Not the Arsenal career anyone imagined when she signed, but far from a wasted experience.
The WSL’s summer window doesn’t close until September. Don’t be surprised if more names follow Kafaji out the door — Jenna Nighswonger, back from her Aston Villa loan, is widely expected to move on too.
For now, Arsenal are reshaping. London City are stockpiling. And Rosa Kafaji gets to play football every week. Sometimes in transfers, everyone wins.
