Mackenzie Arnold

Mackenzie Elizabeth Arnold (born 25 February 1994) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Women's Super League club West Ham United, whom she captains and the Australia national team. She previously played for Arna-Bjørnar in Norway's Toppserien as well as Brisbane Roar, Perth Glory, Western Sydney Wanderers, and Canberra United in Australia's W-League.

Mackenzie Arnold
Arnold during training with Australia in 2021
Personal information
Full name Mackenzie Elizabeth Arnold
Date of birth (1994-02-25) 25 February 1994
Place of birth Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 West Ham United
Number 1
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Perth Glory 10 (0)
2012–2013 Canberra United 10 (0)
2013–2014 Western Sydney Wanderers 3 (0)
2014–2016 Perth Glory 22 (0)
2016–2020 Brisbane Roar 48 (0)
2018 Arna-Bjørnar 15 (0)
2019 Chicago Red Stars 0 (0)
2020– West Ham United 54 (0)
International career‡
2013 Australia U-20 8 (0)
2012– Australia 39 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:01, 23 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:31, 12 August 2023 (UTC)

Early life

Arnold was born and raised on the Gold Coast.[2] She played junior football for Burleigh Heads as well as Robina City[3] and attended Palm Beach Currumbin State High School in her teenage years.[4]

Club career

In 2012, Arnold joined Canberra United from Perth Glory ahead of the 2012–13 W-League.[5]

Arnold joined Western Sydney Wanderers in 2013. However, she was later ruled out for a significant amount of the season after suffering a deep cut to the leg in the carpark following a match in the 2013 AFC U-19 Women's Championship.[6]

Arnold returned to Perth Glory in August 2014.[7]

Arnold was approached to switch codes and play Australian rules football in the newly formed AFL Women's in 2016, but chose to remain in soccer.[8]

In October 2016, Brisbane Roar announced that they had signed Arnold.[9]

In March 2018, she signed with Arna-Bjørnar in the Toppserien.[10]

In July 2019, she played for the Chicago Red Stars, in the NWSL.

On 9 July 2020, Arnold signed for English club West Ham United of the FA Women's Super League.[11] On 18 April 2021, Arnold was handed a surprise 20-minute cameo in midfield during an 11–0 win over Chichester & Selsey in the fourth round of the Women's FA Cup.[12]

International career

Arnold received her first call-up to the Australian national team for a tour of the United States in 2012.[13] She made her debut in November that year, keeping a clean sheet in a win over Chinese Taipei in the 2013 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup preliminary round 2.[14] She soon began to feature regularly in national squads in 2013, with previous incumbent goalkeepers Melissa Barbieri and Lydia Williams unavailable.[15] Following their returns, Arnold was not included in the national setup for some time, before returning for the 2015 Cyprus Cup in March 2015.[16]

Mackenzie was included as one of three goalkeepers in the Matildas squad for the 2015 World Cup in Canada.[17]

Arnold was selected in the Australia squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics as one of two goalkeepers in the squad along with Lydia Williams.[18] She played one match in the tournament, a group stage win over Zimbabwe.[19]

Arnold was named to the Matildas squad for the 2019 World Cup in France.[20]

Arnold was a member of the Matildas Tokyo 2020 Olympics squad. The Matildas qualified for the quarter-finals and beat Great Britain before being eliminated in the semi-final with Sweden. In the playoff for the Bronze medal they were beaten by the USA.[21]

Arnold is a member of the Matildas 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad, goalkeeping for all of Australia's Group B matches. She was named player of the match after saving three spot kicks in the quarter-final penalty shoot out to see the Matildas progress to the final four for the first time.[22][23] This led to many internet memes praising her performance, with some online describing her as the "Brick Wall" and the "Minister for Defence".[24] Other nicknames she has been given include "Macca"[24] and "Kenz".[25]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 12 March 2023[26]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Perth Glory 2011–12 W-League 100——100
Canberra United 2012–13 W-League 100——100
Western Sydney Wanderers 2013–14 W-League 30——30
Perth Glory 2014–15 W-League 140——140
2015–16 W-League 80——80
Total 220——220
Brisbane Roar 2016–17 W-League 110——110
2017–18 W-League 130——130
2018–19 W-League 12 0 — — 12 0
2019–20 W-League 12 0 — — 12 0
Total 480——480
Arna-Bjørnar 2018 Toppserien 15000—150
Chicago Red Stars 2019 NWSL 00——00
West Ham United 2020–21 FA WSL 1602030210
2021–22 FA WSL 1803000210
2022–23 FA WSL 13 0 2 0 5 0 20 0
Total 47 0 7 0 8 0 62 0
Career total 155070801700
  1. includes Norwegian Women's Cup, Women's FA Cup
  2. includes FA Women's League Cup

International
As of match played 22 February 2023[27]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Australia 2012 2 0
2013 0 0
201400
201540
201640
201740
201870
201920
202010
202130
2022 2 0
2023 3 0
Total320

Honours

Australia

Perth Glory
Brisbane Roar

Individual

See also

Personal life

Arnold has been dating fellow West Ham player Kirsty Smith[30] since 2022. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Arnold discovered she has significant hearing loss and she now wears hearing aids off the pitch.[22] She is also a supporter of the Broncos

References
  1. https://www.matildas.com.au/player/mackenzie-arnold
  2. "Roar goalie happy to be 'home'". Sunshine Coast Daily. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  3. "Matildas origins: The local clubs, upbringings of our Australian Women's World Cup players". Code Sports. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  4. "Gold Coast quartet have helped the Matildas reach the World Cup quarter-finals in Canada". Gold Coast Bulletin. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  5. "Big gloves to fill". The Women's Game. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  6. "Mackenzie Arnold to miss first half of W-League". The Women's Game. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  7. "Perth Glory announce signing of six Matildas". The Women's Game. 6 August 2014.
  8. Davutovic, David (1 September 2016). "Matildas stars approached by AFL to switch codes to join inaugural women's league". Herald Sun. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  9. "Brisbane Roar release squad members for Season 9". The Women's Game. 21 October 2016.
  10. "MACKENZIE ARNOLD HEADED TO NORWAY". The Women's Game. 10 March 2018.
  11. "West Ham United catch Australian international goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold". WHUFC.com. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  12. "'The disrespect'- Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold handed surprise midfield cameo in West Ham rout". Sporting Life. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  13. "Goalkeepers Brianna Davey and Mackenzie Arnold get their chance on Matildas tour of US". News.com.au. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  14. "Australia's Matildas down Chinese Taipei 7–0". News.com.au. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  15. Guthrie, Nick (9 June 2013). "Keeper makes most of Matildas call". The Age. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  16. "Stajcic names Matildas squad for 2015 Cyprus Cup". WomenSoccer.com.au. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  17. Gaskin, Lee (12 May 2015). "Matildas squad for Women's World Cup announced". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  18. Boswell, Tom (5 July 2016). "Gold Coast goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold to represent Australian Matildas at Rio Olympic Games". Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  19. Wetham, Beck (10 August 2016). "Australia win 6–1 over Zimbabwe for a quarter-finals spot in Rio". The Women's Game. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  20. "World Cup Matildas: Goalkeepers". Beyond 90. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  21. "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  22. Vinall, Marnie (13 August 2023). "Who is Mackenzie Arnold? Meet the goalkeeper with nerves of steel who sent the Matildas to the semi-finals". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  23. Monteverde, Marco (14 August 2023). "Mackenzie Arnold's confidence and form for the Matildas has risen to new level". The West Australian. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  24. https://amp.theguardian.com/football/2023/aug/16/who-is-matildas-australia-goalkeeper-mackenzie-arnold-womens-world-cup-2023
  25. https://www.newidea.com.au/mackenzie-arnold-family
  26. "Australia - M. Arnold - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  27. "Australia - M. Arnold - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  28. "Mackenzie Arnold". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  29. "Chicago Acquires Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold". Our Sports Central. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  30. https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/mackenzie-arnold-kirsty-smith-complete-relationship-timeline-everything-we-know/cfa13b79-99e1-46f6-bc14-64038eabaf58

Further reading
  • Grainey, Timothy (2012), Beyond Bend It Like Beckham: The Global Phenomenon of Women's Soccer, University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0803240368
  • Stay, Shane (2019), The Women's World Cup 2019 Book: Everything You Need to Know About the Soccer World Cup, Books on Demand, ISBN 1782551921
  • Theivam, Keiran and Jeff Kassouf (2019), The Making of the Women's World Cup: Defining stories from a sport’s coming of age, Little, ISBN 1472143310
  • Various (2019), Stand Up for the Future, Penguin Random House, ISBN 0143794396
  • Williams, Jean (2007), A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives on Women's Football , A&C Black, ISBN 1845206754
  • Williams, Lydia (2019), Saved!, Allen & Unwin, ISBN 9781760871628
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