Arsenal midfielder Lia Walti has said the Gunners are building something huge with their fan base, which was one of the reasons she opted to stay and sign a new contract last season.
Walti had faced a tough decision, whether to extend her stay that began in 2018 or take up another offer and a fresh challenge ahead of captaining her country at home Euros in 2025.
In the end, she penned a new deal in May and the Switzerland star credits Arsenal’s dedication and growing fan support as a main reasons for her continuation with the Gunners.
Walti has made close to 150 Arsenal appearances over the last five years and has seen first hand the growth of women’s football off the back of several international tournaments and the impact these have had on attendences and fan bases.
This season alone, Arsenal have been leading the way with their support, creating a hype around the club and spurring the current second placed WSL side into late comebacks and six successive wins.
“The support this season has been incredible,” Walti explained. “I think we built something huge here with the Arsenal family over the last couple of years.
“I came here like five, six seasons ago and we barely sold out Meadow Park so it is incredible how the support is growing and how people are coming to our away games.
“That was also one of the main reasons why I really wanted to stay here to be part of that club because you can just feel that as a player, women’s football has a high priority.”
When Walti first arrived, the average WSL attendance for the 2018/19 season was 972. The 2019 World Cup served as a catalyst, with the figure growing to 1,468 in the next year. Last season, the average WSL attendance was up 200% to an average of 6,000 sparked by Euro 2022.
Arsenal then set a new WSL attendance record on the opening day of 2023/24, where 54,115 fans witnessed their narrow 1-0 loss to Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
“I think the fan base is obviously huge,” she said. “There are great leagues in Europe and outside of Europe but at the same time, every weekend, you get such great stadiums, such great crowds and this is something we worked our whole career for and we finally have that now.
“I think that shows so much about this club, the support around it and that the club is just doing all the right steps to let the women’s game grow. I’m so glad that all the fans can see that as well and they want to be there every weekend to support us, no matter where we play and against who.”
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