Still only 17 years old, Halle Houssein is a young midfielder who has been with Arsenal since the age of four. She made her WSL debut for Arsenal in September 2021, coming off the bench against Reading.
She has also appeared on the bench for Arsenal a number of times, including against Manchester United, and in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
International Experience
Houssein, who has represented England at both Under 18 and Under 19 level, joined Olli Harder’s West Ham women’s side in January on a dual registration agreement (loan deal), signing for the East London club until the end of the current season.
The West Ham women’s manager, Harder, was excited about Houssein’s temporary switch from north to east London: “We feel as though we can provide Halle with the opportunity to take the next step in her development.”
He added, “She’s a young English talent that’s from the local area, and fits firmly into our ethos of developing players from within our community.”
Since her arrival at West Ham, Halle has made five appearances so far, giving her more of a taste of first team football. Among these five appearances was her first start as a professional, which came for West Ham during their Women’s FA Cup tie against Sheffield United, where she played 60 minutes.
On her debut for West Ham, where she came off the bench in the 81st minute against Chelsea in the FA Women’s league cup, she marked the occasion with a goal just two minutes after her introduction.
Dream Debut
After her debut goal against Chelsea, Halle said in an interview with West Ham TV:
“It’s a dream come true to score on my debut…it’s bittersweet, obviously we didn’t win, but I’m still happy to get my goal.”
With 6 games still to play this season for West Ham women’s team, Halle will be hoping to add to her five appearances since her arrival at the club in January, and be an important part of manager Olli Harder’s plans for these remaining fixtures.
Returning to Arsenal at the end of the season with more minutes and more professional experience under her belt, and still being in the infancy of her career, will only benefit Halle in the next steps of her career and help mould her into an even better player.
Recently, I spoke to West Ham and West Ham women’s season ticket holder Michelle Sullivan via Twitter, asking her about Halle’s time at West Ham so far, how she’s performed in the minutes she’s been given and how she has adapted to having more first team opportunities.
Michelle mentioned Halle’s debut and her goal against Chelsea, telling me: “I was at that game. She was bright and energetic, albeit for a small amount of game time, but she made the difference and took her chance.”
“Has A Very Bright Future In The Game”
Michelle was full of praise, speaking very highly of Halle’s attitude, her ability and what she can go on to do as a professional. “Halle has a great attitude. She is a gifted footballer in this league, being so young, she has time to improve and add to her already growing experiences at both club and international level.” She added: “She has a very bright future in the game and in the ever evolving and growing WSL.”
Football is a short career in the grand scheme of things for both male and female professional players, however at 17, if she is lucky with injuries, Halle will have many more years ahead of her at the top level of the women’s game.
Having been at Arsenal from the age of four, and now impressing West Ham manager Olli Harder and supporters alike with her attitude and ability, Halle Houssein could certainly be a rising star and a name to look out for in women’s football in the future as her career progresses.
