Arsenal sit 10th in the Women’s Super League after four matches, 10 points adrift of leaders Manchester City and enduring their worst league opening since 2014. Manager Renee Slegers conceded the side were not in the title conversation, underlining how far the campaign has fallen short of the club’s usual ambitions.
The results have been mixed and worrying. A 1-0 victory over Brighton was followed by draws with Crystal Palace and Manchester United in which Arsenal managed only one goal. Defeats to Chelsea (2-0) and Manchester City (4-2) have intensified scrutiny, while European fixtures have offered little relief: the team escaped with a stoppage-time penalty to beat KB Hoge 1-0 and surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Paris FC. After the Paris FC match, sources told ESPN that players and Slegers were in tears and that the coach was too upset with a refereeing decision to conduct post-match duties, according to ESPN.
Arsenal have experienced slow starts before and have previously conducted internal reviews that preceded improved form, although those recoveries have come too late to secure the WSL title. It has been seven years since the club last won the league.
Questions have focused on Slegers’ selection and in-game management. She has persisted with a number of established players despite poor form — including Ona Batlle, Mariona Caldentey, Alessia Russo and Leah Williamson — and her substitution patterns have been criticised for predictability. The coaching decisions cited in recent coverage include repeated use of Caitlin Foord, Chloe Kelly and Stina Blackstenius, moving Russo into midfield after an hour as a striker, and withdrawing productive players such as Lisa Baum and Georgia Stanway when goals were needed.
New signings Selina Cerci and Géraldine Reuteler have seen little pitch time, contributing to suggestions that the squad is too large to be cohesive. Some ESPN sources have contended that Slegers has more options than she can effectively integrate, a point that adds to the scrutiny on a manager who previously took charge at Rosengard in 2021 and succeeded Jonas Eidevall at Arsenal in 2024.
