Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
Up until the hour mark, everything looked perfect: we were hammering Manchester United at home, Mariona Caldentey was presented with the supporters’ Player of the Season award and Alessia Russo was on track for the WSL Golden Boot and FWA Footballer of the Year double, all of that happening in front of 46,000 fans at the Emirates Stadium. Then, out of nowhere, Manchester United scored two goals in quick succession and the afternoon became less fun.
For such an airtight defensive line, to concede five against Aston Villa, four against Brighton and three against Manchester United was worrying, although one could argue that numbers are improving on that side (not funny, I know). Unfortunately, we keep giving away very cheap goals, the last two being a failed attempt to play out of the back and a clumsy penalty conceded by Katie McCabe.
If we want to have one small chance against Barcelona, this would be the first thing we need to fix.
We finished this WSL campaign in second place, four points off Manchester United in third but twelve points behind WSL champions Chelsea, who completed an unbeaten campaign. With very winnable games against Aston Villa and Brighton thrown away, we missed a chance to keep the race open until the final day, but I would still consider this a rather positive campaign, given our sub-optimal start under Jonas Eidevall.
All things considered, the real disappointment this season came from the early elimination from the FA Cup against Liverpool, but that’s largely compensated by taking part in the UWCL final against Barcelona, our second-ever participation in the biggest game of European football and the first since 2007, when we lifted the trophy.
Team " data-image-caption="
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
" data-medium-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Team-1-780x514.png" data-large-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Team-1.png" class="size-medium wp-image-49325" src="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Team-1-780x514.png" alt="Team" width="780" height="514" srcset="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Team-1-780x514.png 780w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Team-1-200x132.png 200w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Team-1-768x506.png 768w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Team-1.png 879w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px">
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
RENÉE’S WORDS
Renée Slegers was relieved after the final whistle as her team secured a very important win, confirmed the runners-up status behind Chelsea and interrupted the series of negative results in the league:
“*With all the questions that United asked from us, I think we did well. It was a lot of duels, protecting the ball, supporting underneath, second balls, third balls. And that’s part of football as well, and so I’m happy that we found a way to win today against Man United […]* We understood the challenge coming into this game. Of course, coming away from our last two games, we wanted to get things right, but also understanding that this is a very good opponent and they’re playing to win, to take second place from us. So, there was, again, pressure on us and I think we’re happy we got the early goal. They got the 1-1 from a corner and they challenged us again, and what I’m mostly happy with is the way we stayed level today and kept on believing, kept on playing the game that’s in front of us, because I think at times, we could control the play and keep the ball down on the grass and play our passing game, but at times we just couldn’t and we had to accept that”.
Despite the three-goals lead built in the second half, we did lack control and calmness but managed to limit Manchester United, while the opening stages of the game proved way more challenging, despite the early goal scored by Chloe Kelly, with the visitors exploiting the space behind our defensive line:
“Ahead of the game we were very clear with the details we want to work on to be able to defend space in behind our back line better as a team, I am happy we show a much better version of ourselves. It is often about basics and communication and that got much better. There was a lot of investment from the players over the last couple of days, so I am very happy we got rewarded.”
Once again, we were punished for our passiveness on a set-piece situation, with Manchester United equalizing following a corner. That said, the biggest challenge they posed was rather physical, given the power and strength of their players. On that side, Renée sounded really happy as her players stood up for themselves:
“We knew that they are a physical team, and they don’t mind being direct and supporting underneath and second balls, our midfield did really well and battled for everything. They try to get under your skin but we stayed so task focused and stayed in the present and read things early and that is what was key in this game, they did that really well, as did the rest of the team because all lines of the team need to stay compact so it was not only the midfield but the support from underneath and the support from the highest line as well”.
Finally, Renée Slegers started to think and talk about the big event coming upon us, the UWCL final against Barcelona:
“All my energy went into this game because it was crucial for us after the last two games, so I haven’t been thinking about it too much. But of course, I am very proud that we put ourselves into this position. There are not many players or people around sport who can say they have been in a Champions League Final, it is the ultimate for every single player and staff member. We are very proud and I am very proud as well so I am going to enjoy it and we are going to show a lot of respect because Barcelona is a great footballing team, so we are humble but also we are not there just to participate, we will go there to win […] The momentum that we create and finding ways to win was very important today but we also understand that Barcelona is going to be a totally different game. We understand that they have a totally different style of play so they will challenge us in different ways, but seeing and getting on the score sheet and assuring ourselves we are very capable of scoring goals, that is something we confirmed today again. Barcelona will ask us different questions and we will prepare for that.”
Renee " data-image-caption="
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
" data-medium-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Renee-780x562.png" data-large-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Renee.png" class="size-medium wp-image-49326 lazyload" alt="Renee" width="780" height="562" data-sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" src="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Renee-780x562.png" srcset="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Renee-780x562.png 780w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Renee-200x144.png 200w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Renee-768x553.png 768w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Renee.png 875w">
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
LESSONS LEARNED
Having two players in the top three for the FWA Footballer of the Year is no small feature and speaks volumes about the quality of our squad. Alessia Russo won the award, and Mariona Caldentey came third on her debut season, behind Bunny Shaw of Manchester City.
That alone confirms that we have two major building blocks for the future of this squad, on top Daphne van Domselaar, Emily Fox and Leah Williamson. Where do we go from there?
The club announced that Amanda Ilestedt and Lina Hurtig will be leaving once their contract expire, which didn’t surprise anyone, but Teyah Goldie will also leave in the summer, which was less expected.
The defender just won the promotion to the WSL with the London Lionesses and looked ready to play regular minutes, something that Renée Slegers couldn’t offer given the options available at the Arsenal: Leah Williamson is the cornerstone of our defensive line, while Steph Catley and Lotte Wubben-Moy will battle to a place alongside her, and Laia Codina and youngster Katie Reid offering depth. That’s our defensive unit complete, at least in the middle, unless the former Barcelona player asks to leave in search of more playing time. As much as I would have liked to have another youth product in our first team, Teyah Goldie is ready to start her career in the top-flight and that is unlikely to happen at her former club.
C’est la vie, I guess.
Last Sunday was a great opportunity to say goodbye to those players and pull the curtain over a strange domestic campaign, which started in turmoil and finished in second place. Twelve points is quite a big gap, though, and I am unsure whether this squad is capable of challenging Chelsea, who remained unbeaten in 22 games and won both home and away against us.
Mariona " data-image-caption="
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
" data-medium-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mariona-1-780x525.png" data-large-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mariona-1.png" class="size-medium wp-image-49327 lazyload" alt="Mariona" width="780" height="525" data-sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" src="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mariona-1-780x525.png" srcset="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mariona-1-780x525.png 780w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mariona-1-200x135.png 200w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mariona-1-768x517.png 768w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mariona-1.png 884w">
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
It’s the sixth straight championship for the Blues, who didn’t suffer much from Emma Hayes’ departure because the invested a lot on their squad over the years (including last summer), while Arsenal stood still. We are still paying the price for some debatable choices, both for incoming and outcoming transfers, and it would require some massive revamping of the team if we wanted to challenge them immediately – something that is unlikely to happen.
Instead, we might look at adding one or two exceptional players who might become available and look at the medium term to close that gap. In the last eighteen months, we managed to add three masterpieces in Emily Fox, Daphne van Domselaar and Mariona Caldentey, but realistically we would need upgrades in every area to dethrone Chelsea as early as next summer. There is a big rebuilding job in the waiting for Clare Wheatley and Renée Slegers, so let’s see how they plan for the short-term and long-term future.
The last three games told us that this squad reached their limits, both physically and mentally, which brings Renée Slegers’ team management under the spotlight: the coach elected to choose an established XI to build chemistry and increase the understanding between the players, which brought some excellent results and improved our performances, but had to sacrifice freshness and energy, especially from wide players and midfielders. With four competitions to play for, it is important to get the most out of each players and read everyone’s hot and cold spells during the season, something that Renée Slegers is still learning, based on what the pitch is telling us.
The performances and results since she took over from Jonas Eidevall have been incredible, so the direction is right, but it will be important to finetune a few details in order to go all the way.
Integrating players like Victoria Pelova, Beth Mead, Rosa Kafaji (if she stays), or Stina Blackstenius (if she stays), and increase their contribution would be a major boost for our hopes in any competition and could make a massive difference to rack up more points in the WSL or go deeper in the domestic cups. For different and valid reasons, none of these players found their rhythm during the season, but they represent a huge capital for the club and an extra source of goals and assists that went missing this year.
VPelova " data-image-caption="
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
" data-medium-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/VPelova-780x529.png" data-large-file="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/VPelova.png" class="size-medium wp-image-49328 lazyload" alt="VPelova" width="780" height="529" data-sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" src="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/VPelova-780x529.png" srcset="https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/VPelova-780x529.png 780w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/VPelova-200x136.png 200w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/VPelova-768x521.png 768w, https://gunnerstown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/VPelova.png 894w">
Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
NEXT’S UP
May 24th is the big day, so clear your calendars. We will take on Barcelona at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, in Lisbon, at 6pm.
The Catalan remain heavily favourite to win, but this will be a historic moment for the club and for the players, who will experience something unique.
Regardless of the results in Portugal, we will come back with incredible memories and the players will learn a lot about themselves, about playing a game of such magnitude, and hopefully come back with more hunger, more determination to fight for the biggest trophies.
We’ll talk again after the UWCL final, and maybe in between if something big comes up…
Speak to you soon!
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Italian living in Switzerland, Gooner since mid-nineties, when the Gunners defeated my hometown team, in Copenhagen. I started my own blog and podcast (www.clockenditalia.com) after after some experiences with Italian websites and football magazines. Covering Arsenal Women with the occasional rant about the boys.
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