Hello, Arsenal Women aficionados!
Welcome back, Champions of Europe; it was not a dream, it really happened. The Arsenal Women team are back in action and ready to defend their European crown, as well as preventing Chelsea from winning a seventh consecutive WSL title to capture a title that has evaded them since 2018/19.
The season officially starts tomorrow, when Renée Slegers’ protegées host the newly promoted, very ambitious London City Lionesses. Before getting into this specific game and what we can expect from our opponents, I would like to spend some time drawing you a bigger picture, a sort of recap of what happened in and around the club since the memorable night in Lisbon.
NEW FACES AND PAINFUL GOODBYES
Very much like the men’s team, Arsenal Women were very active during the summer and even broke the world record fee ever paid for a female footballer, although momentarily, to give Renée Slegers a complete, competitive squad capable of battling for trophies on every front.
The club signed former academy graduate Taylor Hinds after the end of her contract with the Reds, with the Jamaica international expected to provide cover for the right-back and centre-back positions, who were left a bit short after the departures of Amanda Ilestedt (Frankfurt) and Laura Wienroither (Manchester City).
The first real BANG! of our transfers window was the permanent signing of Chloe Kelly, once her contract with Manchester City expired. To no-one’s surprise, the Euro 2025 winner with England signed a long-term contract with the Club after a very successful loan spell and will provide the spark and experience from the wing. The fact that this deal was widely anticipated and expected doesn’t take away the fact that we secured a wonderful player and a true difference-maker.
Another very loud BANG! could be heard when Arsenal announced the signing of Canada international and WSL Young Player of the Year Olivia Smith from Liverpool, for a then-world record fee. The forward, who can operate across the attacking line, is one of the most exciting prospects in world football and ready to add significant threat to our offensive contingent, who have since lost Lina Hurtig to Fiorentina. It is unclear whether Olivia Smith will be used as a super-sub or a game changer against tiring defensive lines, or if she will be trusted with a starting place, but her quality, pace, trickery and directness will definitely come in handy throughout the season.
The most surprising move of the summer probably is the signing of German goalkeeper Anneke Borbe, who arrived from Wolfsburg to provide competition for Daphne van Domselaar, Manuela Zinsberger and Naomi Williams. Goalkeeping wasn’t necessarily an area that required strengthening, from my perspective, so I assumed that her arrival was linked to an impending departure, and I figured that – at 24 years old – Anneke Borbe would play deputy for Daphne van Domselaar, with Manuela Zinsberger seeking more regular game time elsewhere.
Instead, the Austrian international seems likely to stay, while Naomi Williams has been loaned out to Bristol City.
Along with the England youth international, the Club decided to loan out a string of young players: Laila Harbert joined Portland Thorns in the US; Vivienne Lia will spend the season with Nottingham Forest; Maddy Earl and Cecily Wellesley-Smith will gain valuable experience with Ipswich and Leicester City, respectively, and Jessie Gale joined Portsmouth.
The most intriguing loan deals, however, involved Rosa Khafaji and Michelle Agyemang, who both joined Brighton for the season.
The deal for the England forward, especially, drew lots of attention because the Arsenal academy graduate played a big role in England’s triumph at Euro 2025 and was awarded the Young Player of the Tournament – which led to speculations about her immediate future.
With Alessia Russo (who signed a new deal today) and UWCL match-winner Stina Blackstenius ahead of her in the centre-forward role, Michelle Agyemang’s path looked difficult, so rumours about her leaving permanently started to surface. Instead, she will continue her development in a familiar environment on the south coast and hopefully enjoy a successful season as a starting attacker at Brighton.
Other youngsters, like Freya Godfrey and Teyah Goldie, left permanently to kick start their careers, both at London City Lionesses – and will face Arsenal on the opening match of the 2025/26 Women’s Super League.
The most painful outgoing, though, came a couple of days ago, when Switzerland international and Arsenal veteran Lia Wälti announced her departure to join Juventus of Italy, for a fee reported to be around £ 200k. The beloved midfielder leaves after seven seasons and brings with her an immense wealth of experience and leadership, which will require replacement within the players already at the Club. Alongside Leah Williamson and Kim Little, we will need more leaders and more role models, so players like Katie McCabe, Steph Catley and Beth Mead will need to step up.
With only 23 players available, including three goalkeepers, the Arsenal Women squad looks a bit thin (numbers wise) to compete on all fronts, but the high-level of versatility within the group could make up for the numbers and allow Renée to give enough minutes to everyone, without overworking anyone.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY IMPORTANT SEASON FOR…
There are many reasons to make this season a very important one, and many players who need to prove something in 2025/26, either to themselves or to others, but I would like to focus on a handful of Arsenal Women players’ who could consider this one as a make-or-break campaign.
JENNA NIGHSWONGER
Signed last winter to provide cover and competition at left-back, the US international didn’t play many minutes and remained on the periphery of the team through the second half of the season. At 25, Jenna Nighswonger is about to reach her peak years and surely wouldn’t want to spend the whole season on the bench, irrespective of how good and consistent Katie McCabe is. Moreover, us supporters would like to see what she is capable of and which kind of player she is: is she a left-back? Is she a central midfielder? Is she a winger? Since we hardly saw her on the pitch, it’s hard to tell.
Her sole WSL start, away at Crystal Palace, showed glimpses of her technical ability and understanding of spaces, so it’s time for her to build on those few minutes and become an integral, dependable part of the squad.
BETH MEAD
With Chloe Kelly and Olivia Smith signed during the summer, Beffi finds herself in a very competitive environment – especially as she seems to be restricted to one wing, her preferred right wing.
Last season, she shared minutes with Chloe Kelly but was named on the bench for the UWCL final, only for her to come in and provide the assist for Stina Blackstenius’ winning goal. Is she becoming Renée Slegers’ super-sub? Would she be happy with this role?
Chloe Kelly ability to cut inside from the right wing, on her left foot, makes her an excellent option for the right-wing slot, while Olivia Smith seems to possess the acceleration and change of pace that Beth Mead looks to have lost since her big injury, sadly.
At present, odds are against her to re-capture her best form and make the right-wing slot hers, but Beth Mead being Beth Mead, I do expect a strong reaction and a big fight – which would only be beneficial for her, for her teammates and for the team. Also, being the only “right-wing specialist” in the team might be an advantage for her, since both Chloe Kelly and Olivia Smith can play off the left, too.
KYRA COONEY-CROSS
“The shirt is hers to take”, to quote Renée Slegers about the number six role, but boy, those are enormous shoes to fill! The departure of Lia Wälti opens an avenue for KCC to become a mainstay in our midfield, next to Mariona Caldentey, but her defensive nous must improve dramatically in a very short period of time, or the coach will need to find other solutions.
The Australian will likely share minutes with Kim Little in the double-pivot at the base of midfield, protecting the back-four and helping Mariona Caldentey in progressing play, but is still somehow inconsistent without the ball, and tactically a bit naïve. At 22, the former Hammarby player needs to take the next step in her career and prove that she can reach the very top. She has all the qualities to succeed, so it’s really “her to take” now.
VICTORIA PELOVA
Her has been the feel-good story of the second half of last season, with her long-awaited comeback after tearing her ACL and the goal that came with that. Since, the former Ajax star grew in stature and influence, had a good EURO with the Netherlands and, most importantly, had an eye-catching pre-season.
Her versatility and intelligence make her a potential starter for any role in midfield, even on the wings, and while she starred as one of the two deep-lying midfielder anchors under Jonas Eidevall, her future lies further forward on the pitch.
She could be one of the surprises of this season, and possibly move up on the pecking order much faster than expected: during the friendly against West Ham she played in the number ten role and impressed with the work rate, ability to show between the lines and goal-threat. After the break, she moved back into midfield to accommodate Frida Maanum and finished the game with a beautiful assist for the Norwegian, who slotted home the second and final goal of the evening.
Watch out for Victoria Pelova…
ROSA KHAFAJI
Skills. Unpredictability. Flair. We were promised these ingredients when the Sweden wonderkid joined Arsenal, but we didn’t see much of it. Initially trusted by Jonas Eidevall, Rosa Khafaji saw her minutes and her involvement drop dramatically once Renée Slegers took over. The talent is undisputable, but tactical and physical adjustments proved to be too difficult for the young forward, so far. Hopefully the gap year in Brighton will do wonders to her self-confidence and overall development, so she can exploits her unique skillset in an organised setup, rather than being a maverick or a sort of luxury player. She is still very young and raw, so Rosa Khafaji still has time to leave her mark at a big Club like Arsenal, but this season feels pivotal for her whole career, not only in London but at the elite of European football.
NEXT’S UP
The WSL campaigns start on Saturday, 6th of September at lunch time, when we will host the London City Lionesses at the Emirates Stadium. In case of victory, Renée Slegers will break the record for more consecutive wins after the first game in charge (9) and surpass Sonia Bompastor, who got as far as eight consecutive wins when she started her career at Chelsea, last season.
Under Michele Kang’s ownership, the London City Lionesses won last season’s WSL2 and strengthened impressively over the summer, bringing in big players like Katie Zelem, Alanna Kennedy and Jana Fernandez, as well as breaking the world record fee to acquire Grace Geyoro from PSG.
They might be a newly promoted side, but London City Lionesses will prove to be a very tough opponent for our bellowed Gunners.
We’ll talk after the game, to analyse the result and performances.
Oh, don’t forget: “CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE, YOU’LL NEVER SING THAT”
Speak to you soon!
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.
No comments yet.