Emily KeoghJan 10, 2026, 04:03 PM
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LONDON, England -- A profligate, lackluster 0-0 draw between would-be heavyweights Manchester United and Arsenal showed why neither side are good enough to win the Women's Super League (WSL) and why, for a second consecutive season, there might be no real title race.
Last season, it was Chelsea who stormed ahead in the league, taking advantage of Arsenal's slow start to finish 12 points clear at the top of the table. They ended up a record points tally and clinched the title with two weeks to spare.
Now, City are in pole position to secure a first title in a decade and the only real beneficiaries of Arsenal and United's profligacy at the Emirates to open their accounts for 2026, adding two points to an already gaping gulf that could be 10 points by Sunday afternoon if City are to beat Everton.
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Neither Arsenal nor United have been able to defeat a top-four team this season, claiming only three from a possible 12. They both suffered losses to leaders City and trudged through draws against six-time winners Chelsea. Their two meetings this season have been disappointing and substandard 0-0 draws, results that are not reflective of teams worthy to dethrone Chelsea and lift the WSL trophy.
"We make it harder for ourselves [to win the league] with this result, and we wanted, needed three points today, so that's two points lost for us, and we make it harder," Arsenal manager Renee Slegers said at full-time.
"It's important that you get wins against those [top four] teams, especially at home and for the performance today and how we dominated United and I think we set ourselves up really well to get a win today, so that's frustrating."
Arsenal had a marginally better game than United on Saturday, creating a handful of good chances, with six of their 25 shots on target. But goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce handled all of them, pulling off easy stops as Arsenal's play was readable and predictable.
Arsenal and Man United failed to add pressure to Chelsea and Man City above them in the WSL. Tom Dulat/Getty Images
This is not a new issue. Teams have sussed out Arsenal's style of play and their lack of a Plan B. Poor resilience has been identified by the club as one of the key factors holding them back from domestic dominance and consistency, and though the club have backed Renee Slegers with a new three-and-a-half-year deal to secure a first WSL title since 2019, their ability to turn their season around looks unlikely even for the young Champions League-winning coach.
While Arsenal lack the resilience to grind out results, United lack a ruthlessness that is needed to be considered a title contender. Their best chance came early into the game with a header from Fridolina Rolfö that second-choice goalkeeper Anneka Borbe parried onto the bar to prevent a goal. After that, United barely got the ball out of their own half and failed to have another shot on target.
United's reserved approach meant they created just four chances all afternoon and never looked like scoring. A red card for United right-back Jayde Riviere only made things worse.
The complexion of the game changed with United dropping down to 10 players. If Arsenal looked frustrated in attack before, the final 20 minutes compounded that feeling. Meanwhile, United's inability to generate anything in attack meant they squandered a chance to win the game.
It was a similar story the last these two sides met in Manchester back in October. Neither side was able to convert their chances, and neither looked ambitious enough to really go for the win, playing reserved and cautious to claim and point and keep the damage to a minimum. Those tactics won't win you titles.
Jayde Riviere saw red on 65 minutes, making Man United' task even tougher. Leila Coker - WSL/WSL Football via Getty Images
The title race is now shaping up to be a race for Champions League qualification between United and Arsenal -- and possibly Chelsea, depending on their ability to close the gap on City.
City also have the benefit of no European football. Arsenal and United are in play-offs in February, adding two extra games -- Arsenal have an additional two with the Champions Cup at the end of January also -- and Chelsea are into the quarterfinals. While the trio have to consider extra travel, games and the heightened competition, plus cup games, City's focus remains solely on the WSL, giving them an added advantage.
"We're not out of it, we're going to chase, as we always will," Marc Skinner said.
"City have the benefit of not having any European football, no distractions, but it only takes one moment to wobble. So sometimes you have to pray for that and hope that they can do that.
"We've put ourselves in a little bit of a deficit, of course, big tally. I'm sure no one's done it before, but actually we've got to give ourselves a chance to try and win the rest of the games and do ourselves to see how much pressure we can put on those positions."
If they beat Everton on Sunday, City will extend their cushion to 10 points over Arsenal and 11 points over United. With just 10 games left of the season, a hat trick of losses to their top four opponents would be needed for either United or Arsenal to close that enormous gulf. Even then, the duo would need to win every game, too, and that is a tall ask at present.
Any hopes of a title race to thrill fans and quell the growing belief that the WSL is a one-horse race will rest on Chelsea's ability to apply pressure on City, who are six points behind, and hope that a big February where Andree Jeglertz's side face both the Blues and Arsenal back-to-back will even the playing field.