There is always noise surrounding Arsenal Football Club. Not just because they’re the most followed team in the WSL, but because of the long history of success they have in the women’s game.
They’ve dominated women’s football, winning every single domestic honour while also becoming the only English side to win the Champions League, twice. That’s all happened against the backdrop of an exploding fan base and sold out Emirates stadium every week.
That success has bred great expectations and intense scrutiny. One win from their opening four league games and two uninspiring performances in the Champions League has led to huge pressure on manager Renée Slegers and her squad, which threatened to boil over after Wednesday’s night’s calamitous 2-2 draw with Paris FC.
In Paris, Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead and conceded a bizarre late penalty. Slegers did not take part in the post-match media duties and it was instead conducted by her assistant Aaron D’Antino. A head coach not conducting post-match media is extremely rare, as it is a requirement of all competition regulations, and the fact that Arsenal are in a poor run only added questions from the football world about whether the club were in crisis.
Australian midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross, who has won individual praise for her performances so far this season, is determined to put things right and understands the club’s status as a women’s football great means questions will be asked about their poor start to the season.
She admitted: “Especially for Arsenal, it’s not the best start.”
Cooney-Cross is speaking to a small group of media at Colney ahead of Arsenal’s make or break clash with Manchester City on Sunday, and days after their Champions League collapse.
She says the squad came together after the game and tried to reflect on what had happened.
“We’re in shock. We’re frustrated. But straight after the game, we just came together in the changing room, and I know people don’t want to hear this, they’re tired of hearing it, but we do need to just come together and focus on the next one because if we keep dwelling on the games or bringing negative energy, it’s just not going to do us any favours. So we came together. Yes, we’re frustrated, shocked, like everyone else is.”
In her pre-match press conference on Friday, Slegers addressed missing Wednesday’s media interviews, and said that she was “sorry for not being there”, while also acknowledging that its “part of the job”.
Cooney-Cross reiterates the work that is being done to change their fortunes this season, adding: “I promise you, we’re not just sitting around doing nothing. We are coming together. We’re talking. We’re trying new things because I don’t want to be sitting here right now and talking about this. We want to be talking about winning games and getting results.”
Slegers herself has also talked about the hard work that is happening on the training pitch, but without a change of results – and performances – the scrutiny will only intensify.
While the story of Arsenal in recent seasons has been about commercial and fan growth, things have been less successful on the pitch. The incredible Champions League win that Slegers delivered as interim boss in May 2025 has not been followed up with any domestic success, and Arsenal have not won the WSL title since Joe Montemurro led them to it in 2019. Since the pandemic, Chelsea have won six titles and Manchester City have claimed one: last season’s WSL crown.
So now, just five weeks into the season, with Arsenal’s fanbase bigger than it’s ever been and the expectations to match, the club are staring down the barrel of being out of the title race before the leaves even fall from the trees.
Cooney-Cross doesn’t shy away from admitting that Arsenal “should have put the game to bed” on Wednesday, before a moment of madness spiralled their already fragile start to the season.
The results, performances and Slegers’ post-match faux pas have put the manager under immense pressure, but Cooney-Cross is defiant in the squad’s backing of the head coach.
“We’ve all got her back,” she says. “Yes, I understand there’s pressure, and I know Renee is taking a lot of that responsibility, but she doesn’t need to. The majority of it should be on us because at the end of the day, we are the ones out there. We are the ones performing, and we’re not doing that right now.”
Cooney-Cross also revealed the togetherness that has been shown behind the scenes, adding: “We’re together every day. I spend a lot more time with these guys than my family, so we need to come together. We have each other’s backs, no matter what. Renee, I’ve never seen a coach that wears the badge with so much pride. She loves this club. She loves us girls, and we’ve got each other, and we really want this as much as everyone else.”
On Friday, Slegers also said there have been conversations with the clubs senior management, including women’s technical director Jodie Taylor, director of women’s football Clare Wheatley and club chief executive Richard Garlick. Slegers said she feels their “support” during her side’s difficult start to the season.
Slegers said: “There’s a strong togetherness and I’ve really felt their support and they’re here with us, which I’m very grateful for because I care so much for the team, for the club. I believe in the potential that we possess and I believe that we’re on this path now. There’s obstacles, there have been obstacles, and if that’s the way we have to go this path together, and I believe we can come out of this.”
When Slegers was pressed on whether she feels pressure concerning her job heading into Sunday, she said: “Always. Where it comes from is me, myself. I want to be good for the group. I want to be a good leader. I want to be strategically good for them; want to get the best out of the group. So that’s where I perceive most of the pressure. But I also understand I’m the manager of Arsenal now, and we have a season ambition and so far, we haven’t been able to execute what we wanted, so I understand that’s part of the role and have to take it.”
In the past, Arsenal have used setbacks to galvanise the team. It was a trademark of the Jonas Eidevall-era, through injury crisis, bad runs of form, and even in Slegers’ own underdog run to the Champions League title when Arsenal beat Barcelona 1-0 in Lisbon, shocking everyone across women’s football.
Regardless, it feels now or never for this team. Her squad can use their disappointment to fuel them for Sunday, and there will be no bigger sign of togetherness than fighting for something away at the WSL champions. A draw would be enough to show Arsenal’s fans that this team are able to compete with the league’s best this season, even if it still means a considerable points gap at this early stage.
The visible and vocal show of support for Slegers is also pertinent at a time where optics are everything, but that will be meaningless if things don’t change on the pitch.