It will take some getting used to seeing Katie McCabe in a Chelsea jersey, with the Ireland captain training with her new club for the first time on Thursday.
McCabe joined her childhood club in June, after 11 years with their cross-London rivals Arsenal.
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After months of speculation, the Dubliner ended up at the club who had been most heavily linked with her signature, and she arrived for training alongside her Chelsea teammates for the first time this week.
Ready for our first session back on pitch. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/nYcFKpbunq
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) July 23, 2026
Chelsea's social channels shared footage and photos of McCabe arriving for training, saying that she had "genuinely [not] stopped smiling."
Genuinely hasn't stopped smiling. 😃 pic.twitter.com/uiEeolwqiw
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) July 23, 2026
McCabe has stated previously that she supported Chelsea during her childhood, and it was evident from the first photos of her at training that this was a special day for the Irish veteran.
🎶 We've got McCabe. Katie McCabe. 🎶 pic.twitter.com/F81gDu912t
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) July 24, 2026
Katie McCabe is happy to be in blueee pic.twitter.com/C5OGJZKeRw
— Chelsea Women Daily (@CFCWdaily) July 24, 2026
First training session for Katie McCabe as a Chelsea player. pic.twitter.com/l161MRhsjS
— Chelsea Women (@CFC__Women) July 23, 2026
Not that everyone is as happy as McCabe evidently is with her recent move.
Her decision to move directly from Arsenal to one of their biggest rivals has not gone down well with sections of the Gunners' support, something McCabe acknowledged in response to Balls.ie in Cork in early June.
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McCabe's departure from Arsenal, after a decade which saw her win every trophy available to her, was acrimonious and drawn out.
The first rumours that she was set to depart emerged in February, before a superb run of form in the latter half of the season led to a late push for a new contract from Arsenal. However, at that stage, McCabe's mind had been made up, with Arsenal having initially opted against renewing her deal.
Despite the acrimony and the fallout that has followed her exit, McCabe remains one of the greatest figures in the modern history of Arsenal FC, and a legend of their women's team - something perfectly summed up by their manager Renée Slegers this week.
Arsenal manager laments McCabe departure
Just a day after Katie McCabe's first training session in a Chelsea jersey, Arsenal boss Renée Slegers spoke to Sky Sports ahead of the new WSL season.
McCabe was not the only veteran to leave the Emirates this summer, with England legend Beth Mead also departing.
“They are legends of the club based on what they’ve done for Arsenal and for me it was a pleasure working with them… I think Katie (McCabe) with her leadership and vocality on the pitch… very energetic, vocal on the pitch, of course we’ll miss that” Renée Slegers ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/MtnQnl3URN
— Katie McCabe PR (@KatieMcCabePR) July 24, 2026
Interviewer Anton Touloi asked Slegers about the void that McCabe and Mead would leave in the dressing room. Her response spoke volumes about how much Katie McCabe will be missed.
"You'll get them at some point, just not around Arsenal," Slegers joked when Touloi said it had felt strange not to hear McCabe shouting at him as he arrived at the training ground.
Of course, they are legends of the club, on what they've done for Arsenal. For me, it was a pleasure working with them as well. In both of them, there's so much football intelligence. I learned from them.
I think Katie, with her leadership, her vocality on the pitch...very energetic, vocal on the pitch, of course we'll miss that.
Arsenal may yet rue the decision to let Katie McCabe leave the club. Indeed, the late rush to sign her on for another year hinted they may have already had that realisation before she was fully out the door.
The date of the first meeting of Arsenal and Chelsea this season will be revealed when the 2026-27 WSL fixtures are released next Thursday morning at 10am.