The 19-year-old made her senior England debut on Tuesday and marked it with an absolute wonderstrike, just 41 seconds after stepping on the pitch
Arsenal seem to have a knack for producing centre-backs. England icons Anita Asante and Casey Stoney both spent time in the club’s academy, with Leah Williamson, the current Lionesses captain, and Lotte Wubben-Moy, part of the team that won the European Championship in 2022 and reached the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, currently strong ambassadors for the youth set-up in the Gunners’ first team. In a parallel universe, perhaps Michelle Agyemang, the relentless 19-year-old goal-machine representing the club on the women's NXGN 2025 list, is aiming to be next up on that production line.
However, while it was in the heart of defence that the England youth international found herself when she first started to kick a ball around as a little girl, it wouldn’t stick, even if she still enjoys playing there occasionally in training. “Defending can be fun sometimes,” she laughed. “Sometimes!”
Instead, Agyemang has blossomed into one of the most exciting teenage strikers on the planet. Her reputation had grown steadily through exploits in England’s youth national teams and loan spells with Watford and, currently, Brighton, before she announced herself on the international stage in the most explosive fashion on Tuesday night.
Just 41 seconds after coming off the bench for her Lionesses debut, the teenager controlled Leah Williamson's cross perfectly before powering a volley into the top corner. After several years of simmering hype, it was a moment which saw Agyemang introduce herself to a wider audience and really show why those who have tracked her progress closely believe she is England's next great No.9.
Getty ImagesA football upbringing
Football was perhaps an inevitable path for Agyemang, who grew up in Essex in a house engrossed in the sport. Her father was a coach at grassroots level and her brother played, too, with his younger sister always following him around, kicking a ball. “I had a coach called Lynn and she just gave me a pair of football boots and I joined in with the boys’ Under-7s team,” Agyemang told GOAL, laughing as she recalls being put in at centre-back initially. “I was the only girl in the team, but I really enjoyed it.”
Loyalties were split at home. Her father is a Manchester United fan; her brother, who Agyemang, with a healthy giggle, declared herself “definitely better than” now, supports Chelsea; and her sister follows West Ham, the team they would go and watch most often as kids. Likely in a bid to keep the peace, her mother “supports anyone”.
Agyemang, though, was always drawn to Arsenal. “I was a really big fan of Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott as well,” she recalled. When her father got her a trial with the Gunners then, aged six, it was as if the stars had aligned.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesNew role models
It was from there that Agyemang would start to be introduced to the women’s game and the female footballers who would become her role models. She and her team-mates had season tickets to watch the Gunners’ all-conquering side, who had been the dominant force in the English women’s game throughout the noughties and won the first two Women’s Super League titles, in 2011 and 2012.
“We got our shirts signed by Jordan Nobbs. We had Leah as well. There was one game specifically that I do remember with Kelly Smith, and then she ended up being my forwards coach last year. Even Anita now, my [England] U23s coach," Agyemang recalled.
“It's interesting because back in the day, they were like the main faces of women's football, so to see them still part of it now is great. Then also to learn from them, to know how good they were, especially someone like Kelly in a similar position to me, it's always great to learn from her and put that in my game as well.
“She's very chill. She knows everything about you, which is good. She knows how to push you, she knows where you need to improve and she's not too demanding, but she knows where to step in, I think, which is really helpful, especially as a young player. You can get overwhelmed sometimes, but she knows how to deal with that.”
Getty ImagesThriving when challenged
Agyemang has had that experience with Smith in the first team thanks to the manner in which she has flown through the Arsenal system. The teenager remembers that “really, really cold” trial at Rowley Lane some 13 years ago rather well, perhaps because it doesn’t blend into any other auditions during her time with the Gunners. The forward was pushed up two age groups in order to suit the needs of her exciting development, never had to go through the retrial system and made her senior Arsenal debut at the age of 16.
That, of course, makes it all sound much simpler than it has all been. It’s not easy to stay at a club like Arsenal, especially because of the challenges the academy throws at its players in order to aid development. Indeed, after initially enjoying the thrill of winning every week, Agyemang remembers when her U12s team were put in the boys’ league instead.
“That was a big shift,” she said. “We were losing every week, we were getting dominated physically, even mentally, it was a struggle. But I think that kind of shaped the way I am as a player and a person, in terms of that perseverance, leadership and also [moving] up as well, being younger in an older age group, just being confident in myself and in my ability as well, which has really helped me today.”
Getty Images SportMaking the jump
Such exposure helped Agyemang build a physical profile that, when matched with her wonderful talent, has aided her acclimatisation to the senior game. That experience outside of the youth categories started at Arsenal, with the teenager racking up five appearances in all competitions for the Gunners in a 2022-23 campaign that ended with her committing to a professional contract.
The following year, she was at Watford in the Women’s Championship, scoring four goals in seven starts despite injury limiting her game time. Now, she’s made the step up to the WSL and joined Brighton, a club she describes as being “a really good fit”, on loan.
Surrounded by top-class facilities, in a team that plays attractive football and learning from seasoned England stars like Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris, it is ticking a lot of boxes for a teenager eager to learn and improve. Her attitude, talent and work ethic are all being rewarded with regular game time under Dario Vidosic, too, whose unique style also presents a significant learning curve.
