Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey voted WSL Player of the Season

Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey has been named the Women’s Super League (WSL) Player of the Season at the inaugural Women’s Professional Game Awards on Sunday.

The event, which has been organised by the Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL), is the first of its kind to honour performances from the WSL and Women’s Championship.

The 14 awards up for grabs have been voted on by the WPLL board, the Football Writers’ Association and Football Supporters’ Association.

Caldentey becomes the inaugural recepient for the Player of the Season award after a stellar season in which she scored nine goals and assisted five.

The 29-year-old’s performances helped Arsenal secure a second-place finish in the league, which was confirmed after a 4-3 win over Manchester United on Saturday. Caldentey, who was conferred with Arsenal’s Player of the Season award prior to kickoff, got on the scoresheet in the second half with a cooly taken penalty.

The Spain international quickly established herself at the heart of Arsenal’s attack after joining from Barcelona last summer. She has played the most minutes of any Arsenal player this season, and leads the league in shot creation per 90 minutes.

The forward, who came in third for the FWA Player of the Year award earlier this month, has been equally electric in Europe. She has scored seven goals in Arsenal’s run to the Champions League final, where they will face Barcelona later this month.

Meanwhile, Manchester City forward Vivianne Miedema won the WSL Goal of the Season award for her strike against Aston Villa in January.

West Ham forward Shekiera Martinez won the WSL Rising Star award after scoring 10 goals in 12 games.