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Arsenal’s WSL Season is in Peril, But Can They Find Answers?

Arsenal’s season is threatening to unravel, with defensive frailties, a blunt attack and increasingly puzzling selection decisions leaving Renée Slegers under growing pressure. Can the Dutch coach find the answers, or do the problems run deeper than results suggest?

The noise around Renée Slegers is becoming impossible to drown out. Every poor result adds another decibel, and when the boos rang out at the Emirates on Saturday, the discontent was no longer confined to social media; it had reached the stands.

Arsenal’s 1–1 draw with Birmingham City, a side still searching for its first win of their new WSL era, laid bare a team short of attacking conviction and defensive authority, while becoming the second time this season that Slegers side have failed to beat newly promoted opposition at home – their longest such run against those teams in the competition. The Gunners only found any real impetus after falling behind.

Arsenal 1-1 Birmingham City WSL

The result extended their winless league run to five games, the longest in the club’s history. The irony is stark: barely three matches earlier, Arsenal had been celebrating a record 20-game unbeaten league run. Now, their season is unravelling just as quickly as it once gathered momentum.

Slegers remained composed in her post-match interview, but her words carried a significance that her demeanour concealed.

For the first time, she openly acknowledged that change might be necessary: “Everything I want is the best for us, and all the best for these players,” she said. “I think if that’s not the case anymore, then a change needs to happen. But I have belief in knowing where we can go with this team.”

The question is whether that belief is being matched by evidence on the pitch. Arsenal look increasingly susceptible defensively and toothless against low blocks. Their attacking patterns lack variation, their personnel and positional roles invite questions, and Slegers’ continued reshuffling of the starting XI raises doubts over whether she has identified a system capable of consistently getting the best out of it.

Before the international break, the Arsenal boss insisted that the title race was “not in the conversation.” Now, the more immediate concern seems to be whether Arsenal can salvage their push for Champions League qualification, with a nine-point gap to close on third-place London City Lionesses. Europe is far from a foregone conclusion and complacency is no longer an option.

The question, then, is not simply whether Slegers can turn Arsenal’s season around, but whether the problems run deeper than just results; into the team’s tactical structure, the leadership, and their ability to impose themselves on opponents. Because until Arsenal find answers to those questions, the noise is unlikely to subside.

Defensive Fragility

Arsenal’s defence has been assailable at times, rarely more illustrated than the bizarre decision made by vice-captain Leah Williamson in the Champions League to handle the ball in the penalty area against Paris FC to inadvertently allow a late equaliser.

It was the second time since last season that Arsenal had failed to win a Champions League match after leading by two or more goals. They had never done so in the competition between 2001-02 and 2024-25.

Though interestingly, their defensive problems are not necessarily reflected in the volume of chances they are conceding. Instead, the concern is the quality of those opportunities.

Against Birmingham, Arsenal were exposed by fast breaks for the second consecutive game, with Ona Batlle unable to recover and Lotte Wubben-Moy failing to intercept Neve Herron’s ball that split the Gunners’ defence in two.

Birmingham attempted three shots from fast breaks against Arsenal; only Aston Villa, with four also against the Gunners in April 2025, have managed more in a WSL match. More concerningly, Birmingham did not win possession in Arsenal’s final third for any of those opportunities, demonstrating how effectively they could threaten from deeper positions.

Indeed, Arsenal have now conceded six shots from fast breaks this season, with only Liverpool conceding more (seven). They have also conceded two goals from such situations, the joint-most in the league alongside Liverpool and London City.

One explanation for that is their carelessness on the ball.

Arsenal are losing possession 147.8 times per game, their highest average since 2023-24 (151.4). Yet, they are facing just seven shots per game, the second-lowest average in a WSL season in their recorded history, behind only 2025-26 (6.9).

That apparent contradiction is revealing. Arsenal are not allowing opponents to shoot frequently, but their defensive lapses are proving costly when they do.

The broader expected-goals (xG) data reinforces the concern. Arsenal are conceding 0.91 expected goals against (xGA) per game, their second-highest figure after the 2024-25 campaign (0.95). Moreover, the Gunners’ 0.94 expected goals on target against (xGOT) per game is also among their highest seasonal averages, while their xG per shot faced of 0.13 is a record high for the club.

Arsenal WSL xGA per game 2026-27

Williamson’s role in this decline deserves scrutiny, although the data offers a more nuanced picture than a straightforward loss of form.

The England captain remains one of Slegers’ most trusted defenders, but questions over her performances have intensified since the knee injury she sustained during Euro 2025. Her individual numbers, however, suggest that her distribution remains a strength.

Against Birmingham, she completed 89 passes – her highest total in a WSL match since January 2025 against Crystal Palace. She is averaging 20.2 successful passes into the final third per 90 minutes, a figure surpassed only in 2023-24 (21.4), while her 1.67 chances created and 0.16 expected assists per 90 are career-best seasonal figures in the league.

There have been reminders of her quality, too. Her delivery for Alessia Russo’s thunderous header against Birmingham nearly produced the opener, but hit the post, while her assist for Holmberg’s crucial equaliser against Manchester United helped preserve Arsenal’s then-20-game unbeaten run and became just the third WSL equaliser she had assisted in her career.

Holmberg goal vs Man Utd WSL

But her influence in possession has not translated into consistent defensive security.

Williamson has lost possession 75 times, second only to Russo among Arsenal players this season, and is averaging just 4.8 recoveries per 90, her second-lowest seasonal figure.

The issue, then, is not that Williamson has suddenly become ineffective. It is whether Arsenal are getting enough defensive security from a player whose value on the ball remains considerable, particularly when the players are struggling to protect themselves in transition.

The identity of her most effective centre-back partner is another question.

Since the 2020-21 season, Arsenal have won 69.3% of their WSL matches when Steph Catleyhas featured, compared with 64.9% without her. The equivalent figures for Wubben-Moy are 67.3% with her and 70.6% without.

The partnership data is more striking, though. Williamson and Catley have started together in 43 WSL matches, winning 67.4% of them, compared with 68.4% when at least one has been absent. Williamson and Wubben-Moy, meanwhile, have started together in 34 league matches, winning just 52.9%, against 73.1% when at least one has not started.

These figures do not establish that one partnership is inherently superior – selection, opposition and match context all matter – but they raise a legitimate question about Arsenal’s defensive combinations.

Attacking Toothlessness

If Arsenal’s defensive numbers point to a problem of quality rather than quantity, their attacking output suggests a team struggling to generate danger through sustained, coordinated play, which we explored earlier this season (below).

Their longest passing sequence leading to a goal this season has been just two. Three of their five goals have not even been assisted, while only Brighton, Crystal Palace and West Ham have also failed to score from a sequence involving more than two passes.

That pattern raises questions about how Arsenal progress the ball and create chances. Their attacks appear too reliant on individual actions rather than combinations that disorganise opponents.

The numbers also suggest a lack of clear attacking preference: just 0.6 percentage points separate the share of their attacks entering the right and left attacking thirds, with only Brighton showing a smaller gap (0.1). While that balance is not inherently a problem, it offers little evidence of a clear route of attack, and against teams defending deep, Arsenal have quickly run out of ideas in the final third, and that’s become increasingly costly.

WSL attacking thirds 2026-27

The Birmingham draw offered a clear illustration. Slegers praised the “urgency, willingness and desire” shown in the second half, and Arsenal’s expected goals nearly tripled in the final 30 minutes compared with the first hour. The response was encouraging, but it also begs the question: why did it take going behind for Arsenal to generate that level of threat?

One place to start is Russo’s positioning.

She has played almost as many minutes as a central attacking midfielder and as a number nine this season – a bizarre split that raises questions about how Slegers is using her.

After scoring three goals for England during the international break, Russo returned to Arsenal and was deployed in attacking midfield rather than as the central striker. It is a decision that few can understand, especially for a forward whose confidence appeared to be returning.

Russo WSL pre 2026-27 position minute graphic

Russo 2026-27 WSL position minute graphic

Russo attempted just two shots in 77 minutes against Birmingham, with neither on target. It was the third time this season she had failed to register a shot on target in a WSL match – only one fewer than her total across the entire 2025-26 league campaign.

Her 7.09 touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes are also her lowest seasonal average since 2023-24 (7.06).

Those numbers do not prove that her deployment in midfield is solely responsible for her reduced output, yet they do raise the question of whether Arsenal are sacrificing their most natural penalty-box threat in an attempt to solve a midfield problem.

That problem is real.

Injuries to Mariona Caldentey, Frida Maanum, Chloe Kelly and Selina Cerci have left Slegers short of options in attacking areas. Yet the club recruited Géraldine Reuteler, a versatile midfielder who has operated in both deeper and more advanced roles, on the right, and even as a centre forward.

Despite that versatility, Reuteler has played just 21 minutes in the WSL this season. With Caldentey sidelined for at least 10 weeks, her limited involvement becomes increasingly difficult to justify.

England have also demonstrated an alternative route into attacking midfield through Georgia Stanway’s role for the national team. Nonetheless, Slegers has continued to pair Russo with Stina Blackstenius. The results offer little encouragement: Arsenal have won 53.3% of their WSL matches when the two have started together, compared with 68.4% when at least one has been absent.

Again, that is not proof that the pairing itself is the problem, but it does invite a broader tactical question: does playing both forwards together improve Arsenal’s attacking structure, or does it leave them short of the connective play needed to break down compact defences?

Selection, Roles and the Search For Answers

Slegers has hardly been short of activity in trying to solve Arsenal’s problems. She has used 22 players in the WSL this season, more than any other side, and made 14 changes to her starting XI, fewer only than Manchester City (18) and Chelsea (15). Arsenal have also used all five substitutions in five of their six league matches, the joint-most alongside Tottenham.

She is evidently a manager searching for solutions.

Squad availability will now undoubtedly play its part as injuries now restrict Slegers’ options, and Caldentey’s absence is particularly significant. Yet the Spaniard had struggled to reach her usual standards even before injury struck, averaging just 1.8 chances created per 90 in the WSL, a career low.

But the timing of changes has also attracted attention. Against Birmingham, Arsenal were desperate for a winner, yet Slegers did not make her first substitution until the 76th minute. Since the start of 2025-26, 77.8% of substitute appearances under Slegers have lasted fewer than 30 minutes.

There is a balance to strike between trusting the starting XI and intervening before a match slips away. Against Birmingham, the late changes raised the question of whether Arsenal had waited too long to alter an attacking structure that was struggling to produce chances.

The uncertainty extends to the full-back positions, particularly on the left.

Arsenal have inevitably lost the fearlessness and tenacity Katie McCabe brought to that flank, while Batlle has not consistently reproduced the attacking influence she showed at Barcelona. Naturally right footed, she has been asked to operate in a role that does not maximise her strengths and Arsenal’s left side has looked increasingly vulnerable as a result.

Batlle open-play touches 25-26 Barcelona

Birmingham exploited that exact weakness, with head coach Amy Merricks identifying the left flank as a weakness after the final whistle. Hence, the concern is that opponents are increasingly aware of where the Gunners can be hurt.

arsenal attacking thirds against WSL 26-27

The numbers underline the drop-off relative to McCabe. On a per 90 basis, Batlle is producing fewer chances created, defensive actions, passes into the penalty area and possessions won in the final third. Her contribution has not consistently compensated for the loss of McCabe’s influence, either defensively or going forward.

Batlle vs McCabe comparison 2026-27

Taylor Hinds, a naturally left-footed left-back, has yet to feature in the WSL this season. Whether the former Liverpool player is the answer is uncertain, but her absence raises another question about the use of the available squad: are Arsenal exploring their options to find the best fit, or persisting with a configuration that is not working?

Slegers has spoken of her belief in what this team can achieve, but that belief is yet to be reflected consistently on the pitch. She must find solutions that protect Arsenal in transition, give Russo and the other forwards clearly defined roles, and introduce enough attacking variation to make the Gunners far harder to defend against.

WSL Opta Stats

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