Lisa Baum needed only one Women’s Super League appearance to provide Arsenal with a compelling glimpse of why they invested so heavily in one of Europe’s most exciting young attackers.
The 19-year-old scored the only goal as Renée Slegers’ side opened their 2026/27 campaign with a 1-0 victory over Brighton on Sunday.
It was a spectacular way to announce herself to the WSL, but perhaps more importantly for Arsenal, this was not an isolated flash of quality.
Lisa Baum is already making an Arsenal habit of scoring
Baum collected possession inside the Brighton half before attacking the space in front of her, carrying the ball beyond several defenders and smashing a left-footed finish into the roof of the net.
It was exactly the type of action Arsenal were buying when they completed her permanent move from RB Leipzig in July.
Slegers described Baum at the time as a forward capable of bringing “direct intent and athleticism” to her attack, while Arsenal’s official profile of the youngster highlights her pace, strength, explosiveness and ability in one-versus-one situations.
Brighton witnessed all of those qualities in one devastating sequence.
ReadArsenal explained when Arsenal completed the signing of Baum why the teenager represented a different type of addition to several of Slegers’ experienced summer recruits.
A reported fee of around £510,000 made signing a player still waiting to establish herself at senior international level a considerable investment.
Yet the early evidence is already encouraging.
Baum scored during her first pre-season appearance against Crystal Palace before producing the winner when Arsenal beat Manchester City 2-1 later in August.
Now she has scored Arsenal’s first competitive goal of 2026/27.
Three opponents of increasing significance have produced the same outcome.
Baum gets an opportunity and makes something happen.
Arsenal’s attacking competition has become even stronger
That presents Slegers with an intriguing selection problem.
Baum is competing for attacking minutes in a squad containing Alessia Russo, Olivia Smith, Chloe Kelly, Caitlin Foord, Stina Blackstenius and several other international-level options.
A teenager arriving from the Frauen-Bundesliga could easily have required months to adapt.
Instead, Baum started Arsenal’s opening WSL fixture and produced its decisive moment.
The Guardian’s report from Brighton highlighted the youngster’s pace and quality during an Arsenal performance that created chances without ever putting the hosts completely out of sight.
That could become particularly important during a season in which Arsenal intend to challenge Chelsea for the title while competing deep into Europe.
Our Arsenal Women season preview identified attacking depth as one of the major benefits of the club’s extensive summer rebuild.
Baum may now be forcing herself higher in that hierarchy much earlier than anticipated.
Nobody should judge a 19-year-old signing after one league appearance.
There will inevitably be difficult afternoons as she adapts to English football.
However, Arsenal did not invest in Baum solely for what she could offer several years from now.
Her opening weeks suggest she can influence Slegers’ side immediately.
The winner at Brighton was the clearest evidence yet.
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