Arsenal Women Football Club Academy (Arsenal W.F.C. Academy) is the youth academy of Arsenal Women Football Club. The academy operates for girls from 9 to 21 years old.
Arsenal Women's Academy started as a community programme in the late 1980s, when the club decided to develop a youth training scheme for 16- to 18-year-old girls who were interested in playing football. This scheme meant girls could play football full-time for two years, fully funded by a government training scheme.
Arsenal's Head of Community, Freddie Hudson MBE, is still involved with the academy setup and has helped to develop the pathway for girls in the North London communities into the current setup as it currently stands.
The academy has won three FA Girls Youth Cups in addition to other trophies lifted altogether.
Ahead of the 2023âÂÂ24 season, Arsenal were one of 16 football clubs awarded a Category 1 Professional Game Academy License (PGAs). The PGAs replaced what were then known as FA WSL Academies.
Ahead of the 2025âÂÂ26 season, it was announced that PGA sides would be competing in the Women's National League Cup for the first time, after the addition of those sides in the Women's National League Plate competition during the 2024âÂÂ25 season. Along with this, there was the introduction of a group stage for the Cup: Arsenal were drawn in group K alongside Loughborough Lightning, Northampton Town and Rugby Borough. Arsenal's PGA side placed fourth in their group after losses to Northampton Town and Rugby Borough, and a last minute win against Lougborough Lightning, meaning that they did not advance to the knockout rounds of either the Plate or Cup competitions.
Dual registration loans allow young players to gain senior team experience at lower league clubs, usually Women's National League, whilst also being eligible for their Academy or even senior team games.
Academy Development Registration (ADR) loans were introduced during the 2025-26 football season, replacing the older dual registration loan scheme. Arsenal defender Niamh Peacock became the first player to sign an ADR loan in the WSL2 in January 2026 when she signed for Portsmouth FC.
This is a list of former Arsenal W.F.C. Academy players who have gone on to represent Arsenal at senior level. Players who are still at Arsenal, or play at another club on loan from Arsenal, are highlighted in bold.