For those who are counting, Arsenal have not won a Women's Super League title in seven years. It has been five years since they were even true challengers. This season, though, feels different. This campaign has been designed to change everything: The summer window saw seven new arrivals, there is a renewed strength in depth, and manager Renée Slegers' style of play has been embedded even more.
This Arsenal crop is not without any success; they won the 2024-25 Women's Champions League title which, while historic, simultaneously highlighted just how far they had fallen short domestically. European success proved what this group was capable of, but it also raised the question of whether they could translate that level of performance into a sustained WSL title challenge.
Slegers inherited a squad largely built for former boss Jonas Eidevall and has spent the last year putting her own stamp on it. This summer, that process accelerated, with Arsenal bringing in goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez, center back Élisa De Almeida, fullback Ona Batlle, midfielders Georgia Stanway and Géraldine Reuteler, and attackers Selina Cerci and Lisa Baum, alongside Isabella Damm.
Those arrivals have helped reshape a squad that has also seen the departure of long-serving figures such as forward Beth Mead and defender Katie McCabe, as well as midfielder Victoria Pelova, center back Laia Codina and goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger. In their place is a group with greater depth, experience and international pedigree, a squad that, on paper, has the quality to challenge for every available trophy.
But that depth could ultimately present Slegers with her biggest challenge. For years, squad depth in the WSL has been a problem for most clubs rather than a luxury. Managers have found themselves scrambling for players, particularly when injuries and fixture congestion hit.
Arsenal are in a different territory. Slegers has a squad deep enough to leave established internationals on the bench, manage competing personalities and constantly make difficult decisions over minutes, rotation and selection. And this is a Women's World Cup year, adding another layer to an already demanding balancing act where players will be desperate for as much game time as possible.
The question, then, is not whether Arsenal have enough talent to end their seven-year WSL title drought -- they almost certainly do -- it is whether Slegers can manage the squad to achieve those goals. Managing player expectations, egos, playing time and rotation across a seasoned international squad could prove just as important as her tactics.
This season may be the first time a WSL manager has faced a problem of this scale.
New faces, same problems
Following a narrow 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion and a profligate 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, things already look remarkably similar with this new-look Arsenal side to how they did last season. Though they created a lot -- a positive for Slegers' style -- their execution in front of goal was absent.
A lack of clinical finishing, missed chances, predictability in the build-up and frustration when things fail to go to plan are all demons from last term that, despite a revamped squad, continue to plague the team during this slow start to the season.
One goal from two games and four points from a possible six is hardly cause for alarm. Only reigning champions Manchester City have won both of their opening matches, so Arsenal are far from alone in dropping points. Yet there is something frustratingly familiar about their performances -- a persistence that is particularly jarring given the amount of work the club put into rebuilding the squad over the summer.
Four of the new signings have already been embedded into the starting XI, with varying degrees of success. Baum has been the quickest and most reliable addition, scoring Arsenal's only goal of the season so far. She has started both games alongside Stanway and Batlle. The latter, however, has looked disjointed and uncomfortable operating on the left, her less preferred side, making her transition into the team slower than that of her new teammates. Stanway, by contrast, appears to have adapted to life back in England with ease, taking on a role remarkably similar to those she has occupied previously.
Misa appears to be Slegers' first-choice goalkeeper at the expense of Anneke Borbe. With Daphne van Domselaar still ruled out through injury, the former Real Madrid shot stopper has started both games thus far, and with two top four clashes against United and Chelsea before the international break, her position as the starting goalkeeper may be cemented by then is Slegers opts to keep her between the sticks.
The biggest issue comes when van Domselaar returns, and Slegers needs to decide who is second and third choice. In a World Cup year with each player vying to be their country's starting goalkeeper, it is not an ideal situation.
Cerci and Reuteler are yet to make the matchday squad. With Arsenal now exceeding the matchday limit of 20 following their summer recruitment drive, several players will have to miss out each week. So far, Slegers has largely stuck with what and who she knows in Caitlin Foord, Chloe Kelly, Frida Maanum and Olivia Smith.
The Dutch coach opted to play Alessia Russo as the No. 9 for an hour against Palace before dropping her into midfield and introducing Stina Blackstenius. It is a predictable solution for Slegers, but one that has yet to prove particularly effective.
Having signed a third striker in Cerci over the summer, Arsenal are still waiting to see what she can offer and whether she can provide the spark needed to turn games around. The formula of introducing Blackstenius, the Sweden striker who scored Arsenal's Champions League-winning goal two seasons ago, hasn't taken them to the height of the Women's Super League.
A blessing or a curse?
Slegers has been clear about why Arsenal wanted three central forwards in the squad.
"We think it is a crucial position," Slegers told a news conference. "There are a couple of positions in the team we think are crucial where you need to have quality, so if someone is not there due to illness or injury, we need the backup so that is why we chose to have three central forwards in the squad."
The decision was not made without considering the potential consequences.
"Definitely, we've been clear with that when looking at the squad composition and looking at all what-ifs, all scenarios. So this is where we landed," Slegers said. "We thought this was best for us, long term as well, because there will be a lot of games."
But the selection decisions extend beyond the forward line. De Almeida missed out on a place on the bench in the opening game but took Taylor Hinds' position last weekend. She did not, however, make her debut.
At present, Arsenal's squad depth is giving Slegers a headache. It is a good problem to have, but in a World Cup year, it will not be long before those headaches become difficult conversations, and a genuine test of Slegers' squad management.
That challenge will only intensify when Katie Reid and Michelle Agyemang return to contention. Both young England internationals have been sidelined since last season after suffering ACL injuries. At some point this season, they will need to gradually build their minutes in competitive matches as they work towards a full return.
Both are regarded as key parts of Arsenal's future, meaning their return to the field will be a priority, but finding space for them within an already bloated squad could mean two more senior players have to make way, forcing Slegers to gamble with her selections given that only nine substitutes are permitted on the bench.
Her response has been to call for larger matchday squads, although that does not necessarily solve the underlying problem. Players who consistently make the bench but fail to get on the pitch can become just as restless and frustrated as those left out of the matchday squad altogether.
This season also brings another complication: there is no Players Cup (formerly the League Cup) for the European trio. For top clubs, that competition has traditionally provided an invaluable opportunity to rotate, giving younger and fringe players as well as those returning from injury meaningful competitive minutes without having to sacrifice established players in key league fixtures.
Without that safety valve, Arsenal's squad management becomes even more difficult. This is the drawback of having the ability to craft a purpose-built team stacked with international talent and seasoned professionals, having had such an impressive window, making use of the free transfer market and overhauling the squad.
Judging by previous seasons, the physical demands placed on players and the injuries that inevitably follow will likely force rotation out of necessity rather than choice. That was one of the key reasons Arsenal wanted to expand their squad in the first place. The club had been hit hard by injuries and though this is not isolated to them, in a season where the expectations are as high as ever -- realistically the team need either the WSL or Champions League title to ensure Slegers' future -- caveats of injuries and poor rotation will not be fitting excuses for another trophyless campaign.
Slegers acknowledged as much. "We're in a fantastic position where nearly everyone is fit at the moment but you know how a season goes," she said.
"So we really felt we needed it and this was a conscious decision we made. But of course, at the moment with so many available players, it also makes my job harder and it's small margins and that's something we need to manage really, really well with the squad because it's new to us, it's new to the players as well.
"That's an important topic, but we think over the season and long term, this was the right decision for us."
It is both a blessing and a curse to have a squad boasting such international pedigree that established players are forced to make way every week. Their depth is undoubtedly greater. The competition for places is healthier. And, in theory, the squad is better equipped to withstand the demands of a long season.
But whether that actually translates into a better chance of winning the title is another question entirely. For all the changes Arsenal have made to the squad, the early evidence suggests that some of their biggest problems have not changed at all.
They will have their first real test this weekend against Manchester United, where Arsenal will be keen to extend their points record over their top four opponents. Historically, the team have struggled to play against low blocks and defensive-first approach. But United's desire to play an attacking style with little conviction or execution -- they lost 5-0 to Chelsea last weekend -- that could create the best test how Slegers squad will shape up and where the improvements have been made.
This will be the biggest test of the new-look Arsenal but it could provide the biggest indicator of whether or not this team can really be a title contender once again.
