Arfaoui made a significant contribution to Servette FCCF winning the Swiss Women's Super League last season with six goals and seven assists. The 21-year-old also made her debut in the Women's Champions League last term; since last year she has also been in the Switzerland squad alongside Bayer 04 player Lara Marti.
"My visit to Leverkusen, the meeting with the management and the professional set-up at Bayer 04 persuaded me straightaway. Signing here means a new and important step for me in my development," said Arfaoui. "The progress of the club in the Bundesliga is incredibly promising. I'm looking forward to this new challenge."
Head coach Achim Feifel sees the international as "a very promising offensive player" and is certain "she can liven up our game going forward with her creative potential."
In addition, Bayer 04 have extended the contract with Jessica Wich. The 30-year-old has played at Leverkusen since the 2014/15 season and is now set to start her eighth campaign in Black and Red.
The captain, currently in rehab at the Werkstatt at the BayArena due to a knee injury, is looking forward "to another year with Bayer 04" and hopes, "to be able to support the young team with my experience both on and off the pitch."
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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