The 17-year-old impressed throughout the Gunners' pre-season campaign and now looks set for a breakthrough season as the Women's Super League returns
Katie Reid may never get a greater endorsement of her talent than Leah Williamson telling an audience that the teenager is primed to follow in her footsteps and take her place in the Arsenal team in the future. As the Lionesses' captain addressed those in attendance at the university earlier this year, she simply declared: "I now have the job of keeping Katie at bay for as long as possible because she's exceptional and she will take my shirt one day."
Those comments came shortly after Reid had replaced Williamson in the closing stages of a 5-0 victory over Bristol City, thus making her Arsenal debut at the age of 17. With only a few minutes on the pitch, fans didn't get a huge chance to see just what all the hype is about, but they certainly have during the summer.
After playing 90 minutes in the Gunners' match against an A-League Women All-Stars team back in May, Reid was one of the most impressive performers throughout the club's pre-season, showcasing ability that prompted Williamson to double down on her praise for the defender.
"Katie Reid is one of the best young kids I have seen come through," she told . "Especially her attitude, she is listening and watching everything. I said to her the other day that she is one of the shyest people I have ever met, but she is too good to be shy. She isn’t going to be left alone much longer, people will talk about her and want to talk to her. I love training with her. She is a big girl but she is wonderful technically and she is Arsenal."
As the new season approaches, Williamson is right. As an opportunity for more first-team action looks set to present itself, Reid is only going to be talked about more and more. This looks likely to a breakthrough campaign for the 17-year-old, one that can excite Arsenal and England fans in equal measure.
Getty ImagesWhere it all began
Reid has been part of the Arsenal set-up since she was 13 years old, that the age at which she made the switch from playing boys' football to girls' football. "It was interesting because I’d been used to a very quick, very physical game, but with the girls, their tactical understanding was better, their decision-making was better and their manipulation of the ball was better too, so I got to develop that side of my game," she explained earlier this year, in one of Arsenal's matchday programmes.
Having played across the defence and in midfield previously, it was when Reid got to the Under-16s that she would nail down her centre-back position, progressing gradually in that role to the point that she started to be in and around the first team environment aged 15. After getting those opportunities in training, and following a loan spell at Watford in the Championship, Reid then made her first-team debut in April 2024, as a late substitute in victory over Bristol City.
She's also been a regular England youth international throughout her young career, starting every game for the U17s at last summer's European Championships before progressing into the U19s ahead of their equivalent of the tournament earlier this year.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe big break
It has been through the summer of 2024 that Reid has really made a name for herself at Arsenal though, starring in a friendly against the A-League Women All-Stars shortly after the end of the 2023-24 campaign and then on the Gunners' pre-season tour of the United States. She was superb when starting the first game of that trip, against the Washington Spirit, and also managed to impress from the bench when Arsenal faced Chelsea a week later.
The teenager's performances led to much praise from fans on social media, where she was dubbed a 'clone' of Williamson and the '2.0' version of the England captain, and also from head coach Jonas Eidevall. "That doesn't come from overnight and her being up one week training with the first team," he said. "She's been involved on and off for the last two years and I think the level of her performance, it comes from that cooperation. It was really nice to see."
Getty ImagesHow it's going
After getting another start in the team's final pre-season match, at home to Southampton, Eidevall confirmed that Reid would be staying with the team for at least the first half of the 2024-25 season, rather than going out on loan. That's because, with Amanda Ilestedt announcing her pregnancy back in March, there is a real chance for the teenager to get minutes in the first team.
It'll be tough, as she's competing with two England stars in Williamson and Lotte Wubben-Moy, and a World Cup winner in Laia Codina, but Eidevall believes Reid can contribute to his side in the coming months.
"As always in Arsenal, we look globally and say what can we bring in?" he explained at last week's WSL season launch, talking about the process he and his staff went through after hearing Ilestedt's news. "But when we looked at options and what we had in front of us, we kept coming back to Katie Reid. Everything she does and everything we see when we see her play, she deserves a chance to be in the squad. You really see what a talented footballer she is and that she fully deserves a place in our squad."
Getty ImagesBiggest strengths
Having come through the Arsenal academy set-up, it's no surprise that one of Reid's biggest strengths is her technical ability, with her able to contribute effectively when the team is in possession. She's a strong and determined defender too, as was abundantly evident when she went toe-to-toe with Chelsea star Mayra Ramirez in pre-season. The Colombia international usually dominates her opponents, but the 17-year-old stood up tall and was not afraid of that individual battle whatsoever.
One thing that has impressed her team-mates in particular is how clear-minded she is in her decision-making. Some young players could be overwhelmed by the opportunities Reid has received in recent months, but she doesn't look to be, instead able to show remarkable composure when she needs to act. That has certainly stood out to Codina, who immediately pointed to how "calm" she is when GOAL asked about the teenager.
"I think that for her age, she doesn't seem to be 17, so it's something that impressed me a lot," Codina explained. "I also really like to try to help her if she has questions and I'm sure that she also can teach me some things, and I will be happy for it."