Arsenal sign Canadian forward Cloe Lacasse

Arsenal have made versatile Canadian forward Cloe Lacasse their second signing of the summer following the recent arrival of Sweden defender Amanda Ilestedt.

The 29-year-old has joined the Gunners following four seasons in Portugal with Benfica, where she was prolific in front of goal and helped the Lisbon club dominate domestic competitions.

"I'm super excited and enthusiastic to get started here," Lacasse said.

"I feel ready mentally and physically to be able to contribute here and win titles, and I feel that this club has everything it takes to compete for the highest honours. I want to go to the next level and score goals here for Arsenal."

Lacasse began her career at youth level in Canada, before playing college soccer in the United States at the University of Iowa. A move to Europe followed in 2015 when she joined IBV in Iceland.

The attacker signed for Benfica in 2019 and went on to have a highly successful four-year career with the Portuguese side, scoring 102 goals in 131 games to help the team to three Portuguese league titles, three Portuguese League Cups and two Portuguese Super Cups.

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Arsenal Head Coach Jonas Eidevall said: "I’m really pleased that we have signed Cloe to strengthen our forward line here at Arsenal. Cloe is a proven goalscorer and has shown her quality over a number of seasons in two European leagues as well as the Champions League.

"She will add a different dimension to our attacking game, and I’m looking forward to working with her," the Swede added.

At international level, Lacasse has made 19 appeaances for Canada and has been named in the squad for the upcoming Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.