PREVIEW: Arsenal have proven they can beat anyone, now they need to prove they can beat everyone | OneFootball

After lifting the UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy last May with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Barcelona, Arsenal enter the 2025/26 season with momentum – and expectation. It was a long time coming: the Gunners ended a European drought stretching back to 2007 and proved they could go toe-to-toe with the continent’s elite. But domestically, the mission remains unfinished.

Arsenal haven’t won the Women’s Super League title since 2019, while Chelsea have dominated the league with an iron grip: six straight titles under two different managers. Despite winning back-to-back Continental Cups in 2023 and 2024, for a club of Arsenal’s ambition and legacy, runners-up medals aren’t enough.

Now, with Champions League medals round their necks, renewed belief in the dugout, and smart moves in the transfer window, this season feels like a genuine tipping point. Can Arsenal finally translate European glory into domestic dominance?

The Renéesance under Slegers

Few would have predicted Renée Slegers’ rapid rise at the start of last season. Quietly appointed as Jonas Eidevall’s assistant, she was thrust into the spotlight after a sluggish start to the season, a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, followed by Eidevall’s exit.

Slegers stepped up, steadied the ship, and didn’t look back. An unbeaten run through winter, progression in Europe, and a revitalised dressing room convinced the board she was the right choice long-term. And now, with a full pre-season and her own tactical nous, this campaign will be the real test of her project.

Talent and depth nurture expectation

Arsenal enter the season boasting one of the most well-rounded squads in Europe. Five players come into the season fresh off winning the European double, first with the UEFA Women’s Champions League with Arsenal, then the UEFA Women’s Euros with England in Switzerland. Add to that the PFA Women’s Player of the Year, the PFA Young Player of the Year, and three strong summer signings, including a club-record arrival, and the tools are there.

But with four competitions on the table, consistency will be everything. Injuries derailed past campaigns; squad rotation and squad depth will be crucial if Arsenal are to mount a serious title challenge both at home and abroad.

Cooney-Cross’ moment to shine

Signed in 2023 as a long-term project, Kyra Cooney-Cross is now ready to take centre stage. Last season, she built momentum, making 19 WSL appearances, 10 starts, and learnt from two of the best in Kim Little and Lia Wälti.

Now, with Wälti’s departure and Little in a more rotational role, the 23-year-old Australian has the platform to become Arsenal’s midfield anchor. Confident on the ball and maturing rapidly, this season could be her breakout moment, not as a “one for the future,” but as a midfielder capable of dictating games now.

A statement of intent

While fans were ecstatic about signing Chloe Kelly on a permanent deal following her successful loan spell from Manchester City, Olivia Smith’s arrival is a huge statement of intent. After an electrifying year at Liverpool, the Canadian wonderkid arrives in North London as the PFA Young Player of the Year and Arsenal Women’s most expensive signing ever – attracting a fee of over £1m.

The club needed a marquee name after missing out on the likes of Naomi Girma and Keira Walsh in recent windows. In Smith, they have secured one of the most exciting attacking talents in world football. A creative spark, a goal threat, and a fearless attitude, she could light up the Emirates, Meadow Park and beyond.

Is it enough to turn contenders into champions?

The Gunners no longer have the luxury of being seen as a team in transition. Last season’s Champions League triumph proved they can compete, and win, on the biggest stage. Now, the challenge is turning that European success into sustained domestic dominance.

With Arsenal’s current squad largely having been built by Joe Montemurro and Jonas Eidevall, Renée Slegers has a collective with the quality and depth to challenge across all fronts. Youngsters like Cooney-Cross and Smith bring energy and ambition, while experienced leaders know what it takes to win.

The pieces are all there. What remains to be seen is whether Arsenal can find the consistency and ruthlessness required to lift the WSL trophy again. They’ve proven they can beat anyone, now they need to prove they can beat everyone.

This is a season that will define the next chapter of Arsenal Women – not just as cup winners, not just as challengers, but potentially as champions once again.