"This has felt like home since the moment I joined." Emily Fox isn't just saying the right things — her new three-year contract with Arsenal backs it up.
Arsenal confirmed the extension Thursday, tying down the USWNT right-back until at least 2028. For a club competing on every front this season, keeping Fox was non-negotiable.
What Fox actually brings to Arsenal
Ninety-three appearances. Three trophies. Three goals. But the raw numbers undersell her. Fox's real value is the combination of things that are genuinely rare in women's football: the athleticism to bomb forward and join attacks, the tactical reading to clean up without drama, and comfort on both feet. That last part alone makes her a premium asset in a WSL where quality full-backs are recruited hard.
She made the PFA WSL Team of the Year in both of her full seasons at the club. She was named in the UEFA Women's Champions League Team of the Year twice. She has a 2025 Ballon d'Or nomination. Renee Slegers has options at right-back — Smilla Holmberg is 19 and developing, Ona Batlle and Elisa de Almeida can cover — but Fox is on a different tier. She's played every single minute of Arsenal's WSL campaign this season. That's not squad rotation material. That's a cornerstone.
Arsenal already have the Champions League title. They already have the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup. The standards here are high and Fox fits them. Any team thinking they could prise her away this summer just got their answer.
Why this matters beyond north London
The 2026 Women's World Cup arrives next summer, and Emma Hayes will be building her USWNT squad around players performing at the top of the European game. Fox, 28, is doing exactly that, week in and week out in the WSL and on the continental stage. There's no better audition reel.
A right-back consistently starting for the reigning Champions League winners, earning individual team-of-the-year recognition at both domestic and European level — Hayes doesn't need convincing. Fox's place in the USWNT setup is as secure as it's ever been, and this contract only reinforces why.
