A ‘Reneessance’ best describes the journey that Arsenal have experienced in the last twelve months. The campaign ended with a feat that no women's team on English shores have pulled off since 2007, but the catalyst for change was a woman within the dressing room from the start.
With a win in the Women's League Cup final and the announcement of more matches at the Emirates Stadium by April last year, the 2024/25 season seemed set to be bright for the Gunners.
Renee Slegers stepped up to lead the team as the former assistant coach of the club. Sometimes, a fresh face is all that is needed to get the best out of a group, and a seemingly simple ploy paid off more than anyone could have hoped when the change occurred weeks into the new campaign.
Now, familiar faces have come back home for good, and the spirit in the squad is stronger than ever to take home more trophies. With a whole year of Slegers seated as the figurehead for the Gunners, will the 2025/26 campaign be as fruitful as the trending from the last ten months would suggest?
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Season Recap
The 2024/25 season started painfully. A 1-0 victory over Leicester City was the only win in their first four league fixtures, and the European campaign opened with a 5-2 defeat away at Bayern Munich.
By the middle of October, Jonas Eidevall exited the dugout. His replacement, Renee Slegers, hit all the right notes. She directed the team to take 19 points from their following seven WSL outings, only dropping points at Man United. In that run, Alessia Russo recorded an average of a goal a game.
The Gunners ended the year with five wins from their next five Champions League group stage games and only lost their unbeaten streak under Slegers with a 1-0 loss to the Blues in January.
Exits to Liverpool in the FA Cup and Man City in the League Cup did not detract from momentum in the group. Arsenal bounced back from a 1-0 loss to Chelsea with a run of seven straight victories and wrapped up second spot with some room to spare, finishing four points ahead of the Red Devils.
Champions League was secure, but greater glory awaited. The Gunners grew into comeback queens, turning around a 2-0 first leg loss to Real Madrid and a 2-1 first leg defeat to Lyon to reach the final.
Barcelona had dispatched of Chelsea in the semi-final, but Slegers' side had other ideas. A dogged defensive display frustrated the favourites before Stina Blackstenius scored to make more history.
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Transfer Activity
The Gunners have made major moves over the summer to sustain the momentum of last season.
At the top of the agenda was keeping Chloe Kelly. The forward, who had been on the books of the first team from 2015 to 2018, had fallen out of favour at Man City and came back to North London to find her best self. The loan spell was a massive success, and she has now re-signed permanently.
Taylor Hinds, who was also in the juniors at Arsenal, has returned to the team, having served as the vice-captain of Liverpool for two years.
Reds raid and record-breaking signing
A second acquisition from the Reds has been Olivia Smith, the newly crowned PFA Women's Young Player of the Year, for a world record fee of £1 million.
Anneke Borbe completes the incomings as a deputy shot stopper from Wolfsburg.
Michelle Agyemang again has gone out on loan to Brighton, keeping grounded after her exploits with England in July. Rosa Kafaji will join her for the season on the south coast, while loans have turned into permanent switches to London City for Teyah Goldie and Freya Godfrey.
Laura Wienroither will stay with the Citizens after moving to Manchester in January, Amanda Ilestedt is now on the books at Eintracht Frankfurt, and Lina Hurtig has signed for Fiorentina.
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Player to Watch - Olivia Smith
The final big acquisition for the Gunners on their way to the top last term was a summer signing full of experience at the elite level. This time, the intrigue involves a rising star in the global game.
Named as the best young player in the WSL, Olivia Smith is now on the books in North London.
Above all, it is the ambition of this move that speaks volumes. Arsenal have launched last-gasp bids for Russo and Keira Walsh in the past, but both deals fell through. This transfer followed a well-worked-out plan, and the Gunners are getting a player in the present set to be a star for the future.
As a puzzle piece, she allows Slegers to rest and rotate. Injuries to Tobin Heath and Lina Hurtig have left the squad short of a quality wide option, especially now Katie McCabe is a fullback. But between Smith, Beth Mead, Kelly, and Caitlin Foord, there are many more options to dabble with.
Her movement and dribbling dazzle opposition fullbacks and fans alike. The Gunners will be going for glory on several fronts, and the Canadian could facilitate greater success on several stages.
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The Strongest XI
Leah Williamson had a small clean-up operation on the same knee she ruptured ahead of the 2023 World Cup. She will miss the first few weeks of the campaign, but her place is not in question upon her return. For now, her absence gives a chance to Lotte Wubben-Moy to make more appearances.
Taylor Hinds has added more depth at left wing-back, but McCabe should hold onto her position as a starting defender. That is also because of the options available to Slegers in the offence this season.
England super sub Kelly is an attacker with expert service from the flanks, while Caitlin Foord and her physical presence have become a mainstay in the starting eleven. Slegers used both from kick-off in the Champions League final in Lisbon: that is as clear an indication as any of her trust in the pair.
Arsenal: Van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Little, Mariona; Kelly, Maanum, Foord; Russo
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Managerial Tactics
Eidevall earned a reputation as a pragmatist in his time with the Gunners. In his last complete campaign, the Swede oversaw a pair of 2-1 wins over Man City, a 4-1 rout of Chelsea, and took four points off Man United. But deep defences demanded a creative spark that was sometimes missing.
Slegers sat and watched this trend, taking off the handbrake upon her appointment as the manager.
One of her most decisive moves was to rearrange the midfield. Mariona Caldentey, the level raiser of the team, came from Barcelona as a left winger or a ten. But the Dutchwoman decided to use the summer signing in a deeper role with Kim Little, providing a platform to empower the forwards.
Russo's record in front of goal spoke for itself, and Katie McCabe closed in on double digit assists as a flying fullback. There is very little that fans would have to complain about come the end of May.
One thing to watch, though, will be her use of the squad. The likes of Lia Walti and Kyra Cooney-Cross picked up fewer minutes as the season went on, and Slegers stuck with a small, trusted group. Minutes must be shared among the players to satisfy the squad and keep the big hitters all in shape.
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Season Expectations
As badly as last season started for the Gunners, history would indicate that things would not have completely collapsed. Eidevall left the club in sixth spot in the table, and Arsenal have never completed a WSL campaign lower than fourth position, where they finished only once in 2014.
But the past is the past, and the present is all about making history. Slegers picked up 43 points from the final 18 WSL games last term, while runaway champions Chelsea collected 48 in the same time.
Arsenal have not lifted the league trophy since 2019, and their target will be toppling the dominance of Chelsea, who have won the last six titles. Sonia Bompastor took over from Emma Hayes to oversee a record-breaking unbeaten campaign, but she should expect stiffer competition this time.
In the meantime, cup competitions have been the best days for the Gunners. Having reached the final four of the FA Cup in 2021 and 2022, as well as being League Cup final victors in 2023 and 2024, they will have their eye on getting back to Wembley Stadium to fight for at least one trophy.
But arguably, the main marker of their development will be their work in Europe. France and Spain will bring big opponents, but the dream will be becoming the first English team to retain the trophy, having bowed out of the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women's Cup as reigning champions in 2008.
Arsenal are riding the crest of a wave. Let's see where it takes them.
