Manuela Zinsberger (; born 19 October 1995) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for English Women's Super League club Arsenal and the Austria national team. She previously played for Bayern Munich.
Zinsberger grew up in the village of Niederhollabrunn in Lower Austria. She was first trained at the LAZ Stockerau and from 2009 at the AKA St. Pölten. From the 2011/12 school year she moved to the newly established National Center for Women's Football in St. Pölten.
In 2017 she was named Austrian of the Year by Die Presse in the international success category. In December 2020 at age 25, she was named Austria's Footballer of the Year by the Austria Press Agency, being the first goalkeeper to win Footballer of the Year.
In her youth, Zinsberger played for USV Leitzersdorf and SV Stockerau.
In the winter transition period 2009âÂÂ10, Zinsberger switched for the first time to adult football for USVG GroÃÂruÃÂbach in the Lower Austrian state league. She made her debut on 21 March 2010 in a game against Maria Anzbach. In the nine championship games she was able to keep five clean sheets.
In the summer of 2010, she moved to ÃÂFB-Frauenliga club SV Neulengbach and made her debut on 30 October 2010 (9th matchday) â shortly after her 15th birthday â in a 1âÂÂ1 draw at home against FC Südburgenland. At the same time she played for the Neulengbach Juniors in the 2nd division East/South until 2013. Since the 2012âÂÂ13 season she was the first-choice goalkeeper at SV Neulengbach.
On 27 June 2014, Zinsberger signed a three-year contract with Bayern Munich.àShe made her debut for Bayern Munich on 21 September 2014 (third matchday), when she won 4âÂÂ1 with the second team in the away game against ETSV Würzburg. For the first team she completed her first Bundesliga game on 30 November 2014 (11th matchday) in a goalless draw away against SGS Essen. On 18 February 2017 (matchday 12) she saved a penalty taken by Carolin Schiewe in the 74th minute in the away game against SC Freiburg and secured a 3âÂÂ2 victory for her team. On 26 February 2017 (matchday 13), her team won 2âÂÂ1 with two goals from Vivianne Miedema, who came on as a substitute in the 60th minute. On 2 April 2019, it was announced that Zinsberger would not renew her contract and would leave the club at her own request in the summer.àFor the 2019âÂÂ20 season, she was signed by English Premier League club Arsenal.
After moving to Arsenal WFC, Zinsberger quickly established herself as a first-choice goalkeeper and played six times in her first twelve games and conceded only 11 goals.àOn 17 November 2019, she was also part of the London derby victory between Arsenal and Chelsea, who celebrated a record crowd of 38,262 in the English Women's Super League. Arsenal won 2âÂÂ0 away, Zinsberger not conceding a goal in the record game. àIn the 2019âÂÂ20 UEFA Women's Champions League she played in a round of 16 game before the Covid break and in the quarter-finals after the break. The quarterfinals against Paris Saint-Germain was then lost 1âÂÂ2. Third in the 2020âÂÂ21 FA WSL, Arsenal had to qualify for the 2021âÂÂ22 UEFA Women's Champions League via the placement route, which included wins against (4âÂÂ0), PSV Eindhoven (3âÂÂ1), and Slavia Prague (3âÂÂ0 and 4âÂÂ0), where she was in goal three times. In the group stage, she played in the home win against Hoffenheim (4âÂÂ0) and in the two defeats against defending champions FC Barcelona (4âÂÂ1 and 4âÂÂ0). Second behind Barcelona thanks to the better goal difference over Hoffenheim, they reached the quarter-finals. Here she played in the two games against VfL Wolfsburg. After a 1âÂÂ1 draw at home, they lost 2âÂÂ0 in Wolfsburg. Arsenal finished the 2021âÂÂ22 season as runners-up. Zinsberger made 20 appearances and was on the bench twice. On 5 February 2021 Zinsberger signed a long-term contract with Arsenal keeping her with the club until 2023. Zinsberger won the 2021âÂÂ22 FA WSL Golden Glove with 13 clean sheets. After Arsenal won the 2023 Conti Cup, Zinsberger said she expected this to be the first of many more trophies. During the match, Zinsberger had three stoppages due to injury, infuriating Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, who following the match, stated that she wanted these to be clamped down on. In the 2023 UEFA Women's Champions League campaign, Zinsberger was a key part of the team during the matches, making 11 appearances, and they made it to the semi final before being knocked out by eventual winners Wolfsburg. In March 2023, Zinsberger extended her contract for another season, saying it wasnâÂÂt a tough decision. During the 2022âÂÂ23 Women's Super League season, Zinsberger made 18 appearances and had 10 clean sheets.
During the 2023âÂÂ24 Women's Super League season, Zinsberger made 18 appearances and had 5 clean sheets.
In January 2024, Zinsberger signed a 2-year contract extension, after 113 appearances and 49 clean sheets since joining the club in 2019. She said that she is still not done with her Arsenal career. Ahead of the 2024âÂÂ25 Women's Super League season, Daphne van Domselaar, was signed from Aston Villa, and is set to compete with Zinsberger for the no.1 goalkeeper spot.
On 17 October 2025, Arsenal announced that Zinsberger had ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in a training session before Arsenal's game against Benfica in the Women's Champions League, meaning Zinsberger would miss the rest of the season.
After Zinsberger had played international matches for the U-17 and U-19 national teams, she was called into the senior Austria national team for the first time on 2 June 2013, for a fixture against neighbours Slovenia in Radlje ob Dravi. Aged 17, she played the second half of Austria's 3âÂÂ1 win, substituted in the 46th minute for Anna-Carina Kristler, to gain her first senior cap.àAt the 2014 Algarve Cup, she featured in the 2âÂÂ0 defeat by North Korea on 7 March, and in the 2âÂÂ1 win over Portugal on 12 March. She played three qualifiers for the 2015 World Cup in Canada: the 3âÂÂ0 win on 26 October 2013 in Budapest against Hungary, as well as the two 1âÂÂ3 defeats against France on 31 October 2013 in Ritzing and on 9 April 2014 in Le Mans.
In March 2016, she won the Cyprus Cup with Austria as the first entrant. With the senior national team, she finished the 2nd qualifying round for the 2017 European Championships as runners-up in Group 8 behind Norway and qualified for the first time in a major tournament. She got playing time in all three group stage matches, against Switzerland, France, and Iceland, as well as in the quarter-final against Spain, where she played an important role in winning the decisive penalty shootout. The team reached the semi-finals of the Euro 2017, where they lost to Denmark on penalties.
In qualifying for the 2019 World Cup, Zinsberger featured in all eight matches, keeping four clean sheets. The Austrians finished second in the group behind Spain, but missed the playoffs for the last place at the World Cup as the worst second in the group.
In qualifying for the Euro 2022, she played in all eight games and only conceded goals in the 0âÂÂ3 away defeat against France. As the third-best third-placed team, the Austrians qualified for the finals of the European Championship for the second time, where they played the opening game against hosts England. With the finals being postponed by a year due to COVID-19, the first eight matches of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup took place before the finals, in which she played seven times and didn't concede a goal three times. On 27 June 2022, she was nominated for the European Championship finals.
In Austria's 1âÂÂ0 defeat to England in the UEFA European Championship 2022 opening game, Zinsberger was admired for her friendliness to Arsenal teammate Beth Mead after Mead had scored the winning goal for England.
In June 2024, Zinsberger had to leave international duty, due to personal reasons. This came not long after her wife, announced on Instagram they were expecting a baby soon. On 16 July 2024, Zinsberger earned her 100th cap for Austria in a 4âÂÂ0 defeat to Germany.
On 7 March 2022, Zinsberger announced her engagement with girlfriend Madeleine; they married on 9 June 2023. On 25 December 2023, they announced via Instagram that they were expecting a child in June 2024. On 1 July 2024, Zinsberger and her wife announced the birth of their son, Marvis, via Instagram.
SV Neulengbach
Bayern München
Arsenal
Austria
Personal