Arsenal's season so far: Disappointingly familiar

A mid-season assessment of the defending European champions and what needs to change

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The first half of Arsenal’s season has been disappointingly familiar. Like last season, and indeed the one before that, a slow start to the campaign has meant that any hopes of a title challenge have failed to materialise – with the Gunners trailing leaders Manchester City by eight points at the halfway stage. By mid-November Renée Slegers’ side had won just five of 11 matches in all competitions, with the jubilant scenes of European glory six months earlier feeling like a distant memory.

In WSL terms, the match that Arsenal fans might look back on with the most regret is September’s 1-1 draw at home to Aston Villa, where they contrived to throw away a victory from a winning position. That match, part of a four-game winless run, felt like the day the good vibes around the club deteriorated. In Europe, a trip to face Bayern Munich once again proved to be a low point in the Uefa Women’s Champions League, as the Gunners threw away a 2-0 half-time lead to lose 3-2 at the Allianz Arena. It proved costly: Bayern pipped Arsenal to fourth spot in the league-phase table, meaning Slegers’ side must play an additional knockout tie in February, against Leuven, before the prospect of a potential London derby quarter-final with Chelsea.

On the injury front, the absence of Leah Williamson has been felt most keenly of all. The England captain has missed the majority of the first half of the season, making her first appearances of the campaign in the final three matches before the winter break. In her absence, Arsenal have had issues with their build-up play, while clean sheets have also been at a premium, with the Gunners keeping just four in 11 WSL games so far.

With a winnable run of games in December, the Gunners at least ended the year on a high, winning their last six in all competitions. Williamson is now back in contention to start once the league resumes in January. Beyond Williamson, Arsenal struggled to adapt to an injury to Kim Little in November, with the 35-year-old returning to fitness earlier this month. They have also suffered in the goalkeeper department, where third-choice Anneke Borbe had to deputise in the last five matches before the break.

Is there anything that surprised you about the first half of the season?

Arsenal had defensive problems in the second half of last season, but the general consensus was that goalscoring was not an issue for a side that finished the campaign as the WSL’s top scorers. Part of the frustration this season is that points have been dropped in matches where they have failed to fire at the top end of the pitch. In draws against Manchester United, Aston Villa and Tottenham, Arsenal scored just once, having netted eight times across the equivalent fixtures last term. Had they found the sort of free-scoring form that inspired the turnaround following Slegers’ arrival last season, the current outlook for their title hopes would look quite different.

Targets for the second half of the season?

With another season without a WSL title likely, Arsenal must find the motivation to ensure that, at the very least, they pull clear of Tottenham and Manchester United to secure Champions League football. In truth, it is the four competitions outside of the WSL that should provide the most excitement in the second half of the campaign. The Champions League will once again be a priority as the Gunners look to defend their European crown – even if going all the way again looks as unlikely as it did for much of last year. With a potential quarter-final against Chelsea on the horizon should they get past Leuven, Arsenal have the opportunity to deny their rivals the chance to match their own historic achievement.

In the domestic cups, Arsenal will fancy their chances of reaching a third League Cup final in four seasons, having avoided the WSL top two – Manchester City and Chelsea – in the semi-finals. An FA Cup run would also be welcome; 2026 will mark 10 years since Arsenal last tasted success in that competition.

Finally, there is the intriguing side-quest of the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup, which takes place at the end of January. Should the Gunners prevail against the African champions, the Moroccan side AS FAR, they will have the opportunity to be crowned de facto world champions in their own stadium, with the Emirates hosting the final.

What does Arsenal need in January?

Ask Arsenal fans this question and most will tell you the top priority is a defensive midfielder. In the summer, the club let Lia Wälti go without bringing in a replacement, with Slegers sticking with the Champions League-winning midfield pairing of Kim Little and Mariona Caldentey. This was not a problem in and of itself, but once Little suffered an injury that kept her out of crucial games against Chelsea and Bayern, it became clear the Arsenal midfield had been constructed in a way that made the captain a single point of failure.

Against Tottenham in mid-November, Slegers tweaked the system by moving Kyra Cooney-Cross into a deeper role, and the Australian has been a standout performer since then, starting Arsenal’s last seven games of 2025. Even so, Arsenal still lack a “pure six” and Cooney-Cross’s long-term future at the club remains unclear. Signing a player to anchor the midfield would allow the club to move away from the double-pivot model that has begun to look stale.

Beyond that, Slegers confirmed earlier this month that Arsenal will look to bolster their goalkeeping options following injuries to Daphne van Domselaar and Manuela Zinsberger.

Will you be amending your pre-season prediction?

At the start of the season, I said I expected Arsenal to challenge for the WSL title and come within at least a couple of points of the eventual winners. If the side that had won the title in each of the last six seasons were setting the pace again, this would not be far from the truth, as the Gunners trail Chelsea by just two points. Unfortunately for both, it is Manchester City who are way out in front – six points clear at the top and eight ahead of Arsenal.

With Arsenal’s opening three WSL matches of 2026 coming against Manchester United, Chelsea and City, they do at least have a chance to claw back points on direct rivals. However, it would take an almighty collapse from the team from the blue half of Manchester to be reeled in by the Gunners from here. With that in mind, I am amending my prediction to a far more modest third-place finish, hopefully with at least one domestic cup to boot.