Anna Patten

Anna Rose Patten (born 20 April 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Women's Super League club Aston Villa. Born in England, she plays for the Republic of Ireland national team.

Patten previously played college soccer for the Florida State Seminoles and the South Carolina Gamecocks in the United States, and represented England at multiple youth levels from under-15 up to under-21.

Early life Patten grew up in Harpenden, England, a commuter town outside London. A childhood Arsenal fan, Patten joined the Arsenal Academy at 12 years of age. With the youth sides she won the FA Youth Cup, in 2015 and 2016. After years of development in the academy ranks, Patten made her senior side debut in 2017 aged 18.

College career

Florida State Seminoles In her freshman year at Florida State, Patten made 18 appearances, including 13 starts. Utilized primarily as a defender and holding midfielder, she tallied two assists during the season.

In her sophomore season she made 12 starts and played in 23 matches. She scored four goals and made two assists. Patten and the Seminoles won the 2018 ACC Women's Championship & the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.

South Carolina Gamecocks Patten transferred to the South Carolina Gamecocks as a rising junior. She joined England U21 teammate Grace Fisk at the university who helped with the transfer process. The pair helped the Gamecocks post 15 shutouts in their first 21 matches of the 2019 season.

She graduated with a degree in sociology.

Club career

Arsenal Patten made her senior side debut in a Champion's league match against Bayern Munich in February 2017, having gone through Arsenal's academy. She made her league debut in April 2017, during the FA WSL Spring Series. She went on to play every game of that series. Patten then departed Arsenal to play college soccer in the United States. She returned to the club on 7 January 2021.

On 17 January 2021 Patten made her second Arsenal debut against Reading in the FA WSL in a game which would end 1–1, in which she played 45 minutes. On 28 February she came on for her second game this time against Aston Villa where she played the final ten minutes in a game which would end 4–0 to Arsenal. On 19 March Patten came on as a substitute again in the league this time against Manchester United for the final four minutes a game in which Arsenal would win 2–0. Her fourth appearance was also as a substitute this time against North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in game which would finish 3–0 to Arsenal.

On 18 April 2021, Patten scored her first goal for Arsenal in a FA Cup match against Gillingham in a game that would finish 10–0 to Arsenal.

Aston Villa (loan) It was announced on 4 January 2022 that Patten had joined Aston Villa on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season. She returned on loan for the full 2022–23 season.

Aston Villa On 11 July 2023, Patten completed a permanent transfer to Aston Villa, signing a three-year contract after having made 33 appearances across all competitions during her time on loan at Aston Villa. On 16 July 2025, it was announced that she had signed a new contract to extend her time with the club through to June 2028.

International career England Patten was part of several England youth teams. She made her first appearance on the U-15 team in 2014. Two years later Patten was part of the England 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup which reached the quarterfinals. She made her debut for the team during a 1–0 defeat against France on 5 April 2024. She scored her first goal for Ireland in a 3–1 victory against France on 16 July. Patten scored in Ireland's Euro 2025 play-off final 2–1 defeat to Wales on 3 December.

Career statistics Club

International

Youth

Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Patten goal.

Honours Florida State Seminoles NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship: 2018 Arsenal Women's FA Cup runner-up: 2020/21