Arsenal exile over! USWNT star Jenna Nighswonger completes welcome WSL loan switch as nightmare Gunners spell nears end

After making just one substitute appearance for Arsenal all season, it was announced on Saturday that Nighswonger has joined Aston Villa until the end of the 2025-26 campaign, with the deal also including an option to buy that could permanently end the USWNT star's nightmare spell in north London.

"Everyone at Aston Villa is extremely excited to welcome Jenna to the club," Marisa Ewers, Villa's director of women’s football, said upon the announcement of the news. “We have been tracking her for some time and are delighted that she has bought into our exciting project. This signing forms part of our growing ambitions as we continue to build an exciting and competitive squad, and we believe Jenna will add real quality to the group and support our goals moving forward."

Nighswonger appeared to be a good signing for Arsenal 12 months ago. Arriving shortly after Renee Slegers was given the head coach role permanently, following an impressive spell as interim, the feeling was that she represented the slight shift in style from previous coach Jonas Eidevall to Slegers, as a full-back who suited the demands of the latter more.

However, the 25-year-old has made just six appearances for Arsenal in the time since, with just two of those starts. Five of those appearances came last season, too, with the full-back only getting onto the pitch once so far in the 2025-26 season. That was as a substitute in the win over Leicester as she replaced Taylor Hinds, another full-back whose arrival in the summer window has further limited the American's game time.

More concerning has been that Nighswonger, who The Athletic understands cost Arsenal a $100,000 (£75,000) fee, has regularly struggled to even make the matchday squad under Slegers, something which has impacted her international career, too. The full-back hasn't been called up by USWNT boss Emma Hayes since last February, something she will hope changes with this loan switch.

However, despite her struggles at Arsenal, it's clear that Nighswonger is a talented player and one that Villa will now hope to make the most of. Part of a Gotham side which won the NWSL Championship in 2023 and on the USWNT roster which won gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the 25-year-old is a dynamic full-back who can be an asset on both sides of the ball.

She's got plenty of experience, too, which Villa will hope can help them kick on. The club are currently eighth in the WSL table but have picked up some impressive results since Natalie Arroyo's arrival as head coach this month, with wins over Arsenal and Manchester United. It's consistency that the team needs and bringing in top players like Nighswonger can help in that regard, both in terms of the quality she adds and the depth she can help provide.

Nighswonger is Villa's first signing of the January window but reports, which surfaced shortly after her transfer was confirmed, suggest it certainly won't be the last, or indeed the biggest. That's because BBC Sport understands that the club are also set to sign Chelsea midfielder Oriane Jean-Francois on a permanent deal worth £450,000 ($603,000), which would represent a record sale for the Blues' women's side.

Jean-Francois joined Chelsea in the summer of 2024 from Paris Saint-Germain but has been competing for a starting spot with England star Keira Walsh and, as such, she has struggled for regular game time. That's no slight on the 25-year-old, who has looked sharp and talented when given opportunities. As with the Nighswonger move, it is smart for Villa to be shopping in the deep squads of the WSL's top clubs and they now look set to pick up Jean-Francois this month in another move which could help the club rise up the table.