Lioness icon says Beth Mead is not ready for England duty despite huge Arsenal assist

The forward set up an assist for fellow England star Alessia Russo in the 94th minute, handing Arsenal a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa and their first three points of the WSL season.

Despite Mead's immediate impact, there was no place for her in Sarina Wiegman's 25-player-squad who will face Belgium home and away in the Women's Nations League.

But there is one former Lioness who believes Wiegman was right not to call up the Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner.

Former England and Manchester City striker and midfielder Izzy Christiansen made 31 appearances for the Lionesses before retiring from football at the end of the 2022/23 season.

She spent time playing for Everton, Manchester City, Lyon and Birmingham City and counts an FA Cup, a WSL title and a Champions League title among her trophy collection.

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And Christiansen, with all her experience, believes Wiegman is wise to be patient.

Speaking at the Utilita Kids and Girls Cup launch day at Barnsley, she told talkSPORT: "Beth isn't ready to be in the England setup yet.

"Sarina Wiegman makes some excellent decisions and I think that's another excellent decision from her.

"I'm sure that many fans want to see Beth Mead back in an England shirt and it will happen - but probably not for the next few weeks at least, or months.

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"She needs to get herself back playing, ticking for Arsenal before she gets back in an England shirt."

Mead has not played since November 2022 when she picked up an ACL injury in Arsenal's 3-2 loss to Manchester United.

Her teammates Vivianne Miedema and Leah Williamson suffered the same injury not long after, meaning Arsenal have been without a number of their star players.

But Mead was finally back on the bench for Arsenal's most recent fixture against Aston Villa, coming on in the 88th minute to the delight of the 35,829 fans at the Emirates - and she did not disappoint.

Not everyone was quite so sure that leaving Mead out of the England setup was the right decision.

Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall admitted that while he would never question Wiegman's squad decisions, not having Mead on England duty made her return to full fitness difficult.

He remarked: "The reality of us (Arsenal) is when it's an international break we might only have three outfield players left at the training ground.

"That is far from ideal for a player like Beth Mead. At the moment she lacks the experience of big pitch decisions.

"My hope would have been she could have gone and trained with England instead, even if she wasn't available for selection. But it's England's decision."

Mead herself had expressed her desire to play for England following her Arsenal return.

She told The Guardian: "I am ready to compete. If Sarina thinks so or not is a different story. But in my own head, I am ready to compete."

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While Mead will not be in action against Belgium in the Women's Nations League, fans will have one more chance to see her in action before the international break.

Arsenal travel to Bristol City on Sunday with the Gunners hoping to take three points from their winless hosts.