Meet Katie Reid: The teenage defender ready to become Arsenal’s new star

18-year-old centre-back has started in place of injured Leah Williamson this season

Credit: Getty Images

Arsenal's breakout star in the early weeks of the 2025-26 season has been Katie Reid.

Having made 13 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners last season – the majority of which came from the bench - Reid has played every minute of Arsenal's opening two games in the WSL this season.

Reid has come into the team in place of the injured Leah Williamson and ahead of experienced internationals Lotte Wubben-Moy and Laia Codina.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal's clash with Manchester United on Sunday, Reid talked about her start to the season, learning from experienced players, winning the Champions League and how she winds down away from the pitch.

Reid’s inclusion in Arsenal's season opener against London City Lionesses came as a major surprise to fans, but it wasn’t a shock for the young defender, who turns 19 next week.

"It wasn't really a last-minute thing,” Reid said. “It was just the week leading up [to the game] and training, you just get a little bit of a sense. You don't want to be too focused on the game or anything. You just want to focus on taking each day as it comes, and not really getting in your head about it at all."

In that game, Reid made an early error, conceding a penalty as London City Lionesses took an unlikely lead, but she was quick to put the mistake out of her mind, going on to enjoy a strong performance.

"Obviously you don’t want it to happen,”, she adds, “but my next focus was on the next action. I felt the support of the girls, the support around me, and it was like it was in the past, forget about it.”

“All I can do on the pitch is make up for my mistake. Obviously, no one wants to give away a penalty, but things happen, and all you can do is not hide and just try your best to make up for it for the rest of the game."

Reid comes into to an experienced backline, with members of Arsenal's leadership group such as Steph Catley and Katie McCabe on the pitch to support her, alongside established US international Emily Fox. When asked about the importance of being surrounded by leaders on and off the pitch Reid, was quick to praise the defenders in Arsenal's squad

"I think it's so important, I learn so much from them. They're communicating on the pitch, they're constantly talking. Even the girls that aren't playing at the moment, I learn so much from players like Lotte [Wubben-Moy] and Codi [Laia Codina] and all the centre backs because they all have different attributes which are their strengths. So if I can learn bits of that from each of their games — we all want to improve and we all want to get better, so I just take as much info as I can.”

One of Reid's unique attributes is her height. When asked about how she can use that to her advantage, particularly in set pieces, Reid responded: "I've worked on it and am currently working on it; it's a thing I want to make a bigger strength of mine. But obviously height gives us an advantage on set pieces, and we know set pieces can win and lose us games, and so I know how significant they are.”

Asked about the prospect of this Sunday's trip to Leigh Sports Village to face Manchester United, Reid sounded like a player raring to go.

"We're excited. We feel ready. All we can really do is believe that we're going to win all our battles and just go into the game confident. The girls have been training really well. The intensity has been really good, so we're just looking forward to getting out and playing."

Reid was part of the victorious travelling Arsenal squad that lifted the Champions League after beating Barcelona back in May. It was the first taste of senior football silverware for the youngster and some of her teammates went on to experience more success with England at Euro 2025, while Reid herself was involved at the Women’s Under-19 European championships.

"Yeah, it was a crazy period of time, because straight after the Champions League, we went to prep for the Under-19 Euro. So there wasn't much of a turnaround. It almost felt like the Champions League win was over very quickly, which was very sad, because we wanted to do lots of celebrating, but yeah, it's a quick turnaround."

Speaking about England's success at the Euros, Reid was effusive in her praise for Michelle Agyemang, who is five months her senior and is spending the season on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion in the WSL. Speaking about her crucial goals, Reid always trusted in the on-loan Arsenal forward.

“I just knew she was going to score for some reason, it was unreal. We've obviously come up a bit together and all of our journeys are so different, in terms of what we go through, but she deserves it. And yeah, it was amazing to watch her achieve that.”

Coming into an elite sporting environment, Reid has also ensured she has time to unwind with reading and golf being a focus for her off the pitch.

"I've got into reading a little bit, but I like to play golf, so that's a good mental switch off. I just finished reading ‘The Boyfriend’ by Freida McFadden.”

Reid is in line to make her third start of the season on Sunday as Arsenal face their biggest test of the campaign so far. United’s attackers are in great form, having scored nine goals across two WSL games this season.