Arsenal have completed the free transfer of Spain international Ona Batlle following her departure from Barcelona. The 27-year-old full-back has signed a four-year contract with an option for an additional season.
Widely considered one of the best in her position, Batlle leaves Barcelona after helping the club lift the Champions League in May. During three seasons back in Catalonia, she played 114 times, winning three consecutive league titles and two European crowns, and she also started the 2025 Champions League final that Arsenal won against Barcelona.
Batlle said Arsenal are one of the world’s biggest clubs and that she can’t wait to play at Emirates Stadium alongside top teammates. She added that she has come to win trophies and believes Arsenal is the right place to achieve that.
A Barcelona academy graduate, Batlle made her senior debut with Madrid CFF in 2017, earned regular minutes at Levante, and moved to Manchester United in 2020, where she made 77 appearances before returning to Barcelona as an established Spain international.
Capped 76 times by Spain, Batlle was part of the 2023 World Cup-winning squad and finished as a runner-up to England at Euro 2025. She was named in the FIFA Best XI in both 2024 and 2025 and is understood to have signed a pre-contract to join Arsenal earlier this year.
Manager Renee Slegers said she was delighted to add Batlle to the squad, describing her as an experienced, attack-minded full-back with outstanding physical qualities and a winner’s mentality. Director of women’s football Clare Wheatley praised Batlle’s record for club and country, calling her a proven winner eager for more success and one of the world’s best defenders.
Batlle will wear the number 22 shirt for Arsenal.