CONNECTED! Arsenal really going for it

After being the bridesmaids in the WSL for the last few years, Arsenal are definitely going for it this season. No ifs, no buts, no runners-up. They want to win the league.

Recruitment has been solid across the pitch, to cope with more fixtures in the cups and league. And you can’t say we haven’t been thorough in previewing their upcoming season. We spoke to head coach Renée Slegers, three of the new signings – Georgia Stanway, Ona Batlle and Geraldine Reuteler – plus Olivia Smith and a very upfront Chloe Kelly.

When the Gunners ended last season saying an emotional goodbye to Beth Mead, as well as the likes of Laia Codina and Victoria Pelova, it was seen as a natural, even understandable, transition. When Katie McCabe left for closest rivals, Chelsea, however, those emotions veered straight into much wailing and gnashing of teeth. But now that dark mood has lifted sufficiently, it’s time to look at the evolution of the squad under Renée Slegers, who is now able to recruit her own chosen players to fit her style within ‘the Arsenal way’. And crucially, look at the likelihood of them finally grabbing the WSL title.

Looking through the spine of the team, from front to back, Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius now have some competition from the promising Selina Cerci (below, left), and of course, the returning Michelle Agyemang, once she’s over her ACL injury. In the heart of midfield, they can double or triple pivot or even go for a diamond formation, with the overworked Mariona and Kim Little now supplemented with Georgia Stanway, and Swiss superstar Geraldine Reuteler.

Behind them, Leah Williamson is fit again, and both Steph Catley and Lotte Wubben Moy can slot in alongside the England captain. And as with Agyemang, they have Katie Reid almost fit again after her own ACL injury. Arguably the most rotated and problematic position last season was goalkeeper, with Anneke Borbe and Daphne van Domselaar frequently having to play through injury. Now they have five capable keepers, including the experienced Misa Rodriguez and young  Isabella Damm who both joined in the summer.

In addition, they have more flair with the young winger Lisa Baum (below, right) coming from RB Leipzig – all left foot and stepovers – plus ex-Man United and WSL-ready full-back Ona Batlle moving from Barcelona.

Key transfers in: Georgia Stanway from Bayern Munich, Géraldine Reuteler from Eintracht Frankfurt, Selina Cerci from TSG Hoffenheim, Lisa Baum from RB Leipzig, Ona Batlle from Barcelona, Misa Rodriguez from Real Madrid, and Isabella Damm from Brøndby IF.

Key question is whether they can gel quickly enough to mount a serious challenge – not just to eternal rivals Chelsea, but also a resurgent Man City – while also fighting off those ‘upstarts’ London City Lionesses, Spurs and even Brighton. 

And finding those connections is the theme that comes up while talking to both Slegers and Stanway. Read on for these conversations, and further insight from Batlle, Reuteler and Chloe Kelly.

RENÉE SLEGERS

What are your goals for the team – and for yourself – this season?

RS: The team goal is 100% putting ourselves in the position to be the most capable team in England to win the WSL. We are super explicit with it, going into this year.

What we think we need with that is to be the most connected team – we think we can be as well – and that’s connections on and off the pitch, which will be the margins for us. And acting with passion and perseverance.

That is the statement we have made for ourselves and I am super transparent here. That is something we have kept inside and what we refer everything back to, so we do everything with the end in mind. That is 100% our season ambition.

We want to endure things better, because the draws last season cost us and we want to be able to put performances in that are going to get us wins. So we have to endure difficult moments and find solutions in those moments get results.

And for me personally, I want to make the team better, I want to make people better, I want them to maximise their potential.

And can you learn from all the new players…

RS: Yeah, definitely, definitely. That’s always the balance when players come in, we have a certain structure, framework that we want to play and we give them that clarity.

But we also say: we wait with that a little bit, we don’t want to give you too much information, because we want to see what you bring to the environment and what are your ideas on the pitch.

When we talk about football, what’s your experiences at other clubs? What can we learn? What actions do players do on the pitch before we tell them what we want them to do.

For me, that is really the fun part of the role, both the recruitment process and the integration of new players into the squad and to just see new things and create new ideas together.

We worked really hard in pre-season to try to make things gel and connect on the pitch, we know the quality of squad we have and the identity we have.

I am optimistic, but we are not there yet.

GEORGIA STANWAY

Have you set targets for yourself and the team this season?

For me personally in these first six months it’s just to find my feet. I want to create as much consistency as possible within my own performances and build connections with my teammates both on and off the pitch.

For me it’s important to build off the pitch because it allows me to be able to demand more on the pitch, and just having that eye contact and not necessarily the communication, to be able to understand each other based off our movements.

And I think as a team we just want to put ourselves in the best possible position, control everything that we can control, take each day, each game, as it comes. Put in the work on the grass that can hopefully get us the results, and all we can do it give it our best shot and know at the end that we left no stone unturned.

And win the league?

[wide smile] That’d be nice!

ONA BATLLE

No stranger to the WSL, having played for Man United, before returning to Barcelona, Ona Batlle says she’s happy to play as right or left back, and “enjoys both sides”. She is pretty sure – even though she is less familiar with the NWSL – that the WSL is the most competitive league, and in her view, all the teams have stepped up now. Making it the perfect time for her return.

A couple of reunions made the prospect even more enticing. For one, she’ll be reunited with her Spain and previously Barça teammate Mariona, noting that “she makes it easier for those around her.” As for Alessia Russo, who she played alongside at United, she is happy to link up with her again, “she has improved loads and is one of the best Number Nines in the world now”.

She knows that Arsenal will need to be “constant” every week to win the league… to win in any way. And she is mightily excited about playing at the Emirates, and appreciates the club’s history.

I also pressed Batlle on the push/pull factor that led to her leaving her beloved Barça and coming to Arsenal.

Having been at Man United before, then Barcelona again, what made you choose Arsenal?

Arsenal play the way I like to play.

I was very excited as well to be back in the WSL.

I think it’s the most competitive league and it was a new challenge that I was really looking for.

There’s been a mass exodus from Barcelona this summer, everybody [Alexia, Mapi Leon, Salma Paralluelo] seems to be going. Is there a reason or is it just the natural scheme of things?

Well, I think every person has their own reasons.

For me, it was a new challenge that I wanted to take, coming back to the WSL and especially to Arsenal as it’s the team that suits better the way I want to play.

But I cannot talk about them [the others departing]… everybody has their reasons I guess, and I can’t talk about them or their reasons.

GERALDINE REUTELER

Swiss midfielder Geraldine Reuteler came to international prominence in her home Euros in 2025, when she just kept on winning Player of the Match, game after game. Dynamic and dogged, she always wants the ball, and when she hasn’t got it, she’s after it like a terrier. And she has felt for some time that she wanted to play in England some day.

Reuteler says her role at Arsenal will be fluid, basically a box-to-box player who will fit into the system. She reckons that where the Bundesliga has stopped improving, the WSL is going up. So it’s the right step, the next step, for her to be here.

She believes that she can improve everything about her game. In fact, she observes, the training is so professional at Arsenal, she can probably learn something every day. For Reuteler, there is so much quality at the club, plus the set-up in training is hugely different. “Everything is a bit more professional and bigger, and there are more staff.”

Reuteler’s journey to this point started when she played first with her older brothers, then with boys until she was 14, before going to Lucerne aged 15. And once she started to play in the number 14 jersey – which is her special number – she continued with it at Eintracht Frankfurt and now has it at Arsenal.

Many of us believed she was going to join Arsenal last season, and no-one was surprised when she made the move this summer. So I wondered how she made the decision to come here.

Did you decide to come after talking to people like your Swiss captain [Lia Wälti, ex-Arsenal] and teammates who’ve already come over here – or did you and Nadine [Riesen, who has gone to West Ham] both choose to leave Eintracht Frankfurt at the same time?

I just wanted to see something else.

I was eight years in Frankfurt.

I saw the Bundesliga for eight years, so I wanted to see another league.

And yeah, the English league is one of the best leagues in the world.

So yeah, I’m really happy to be here.

And what’s the reason why you chose Arsenal?

So Arsenal is also one of the best clubs in the world.

I think it’s a privilege to play here.

I’m excited. I’m happy to be here.

And yeah, it’s also a familiar club.

That’s what I’m also looking forward to.

And did Lia Walti sell it quite well to you?

[huge smile] Of course.

OLIVIA SMITH

Tell me how you feel about the upcoming season, and how you can build on last season.

We’re really excited for this season, especially with the new signings coming in.

It’s looking very exciting for us.

We want to come out with a really big attacking threat this season.

We want to score goals.

Again, we want to win titles and silverware this year, so we’re very ambitious.

In your final pre-season friendly it felt like everything was a lot faster in the second half. What were you told to do?

Yeah, well obviously when you’re playing against a team in a low block there’s a lot of problems to solve.

I think we spent most of the first half just trying to problem solve, and then going into the second half knew what we had to do to break them down.

CHLOE KELLY

Many top players are so media trained that it’s hard to get anything genuine or revealing from them. But Chloe Kelly is different, often stopping to talk even when she’s not the designated player. She’ll even wax lyrical about her great mate, Meg Jones, aka the England rugby captain.

In the pre-season media day, Kelly showed some vulnerability and introspection in her thoughtful answers. She talked of her dark moments before her return to Arsenal. And she says she is not a social butterfly outside training; she just goes home. As an example, she says she has no idea where the coffee shops are.  

For the club and herself, she says she’s been working on improving her output around the box.

She wants to get her flow, her rhythm. And her head won’t be turned by the prospect of glittering prizes further down the line. For her, getting goals and assists for Arsenal is more important than looking ahead to the World Cup in 2027.

With the young players at Arsenal, she says she likes to lead by example. She still gets that same feeling and is buzzing for the likes of Lisa Baum, Jessie Gale, plus of course Arsenal youth players Katie Reid and Michelle Agyemang, with the prospect of them coming back from injury.

Kelly is only too aware of the vast number of exciting players moving to the WSL and says it’s important to grow the game and “put bums on seats”. However, she doesn’t really look at other clubs, and says of Arsenal: “we take care of our own business”.

Nice to see you, Chloe. How are you?

I’m very well, thank you. Nice summer, nice to be back with the girls here.

You had a bit of a stop-start season last season, didn’t you? When you did come in, you made an impact, but it was hard for you.

So I wonder if you have personal goals for yourself, and also for the club this season.

Yeah, of course.

I needed that summer to work on myself physically.

And obviously a summer without a tournament was the time to do that.

Of course, last season was a frustration for me being in and out with injury.

Off the back of an amazing summer [in 2025] I had big goals to do amazing things here at Arsenal in my first season.

I was a little bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to do.

But I know the club – and the ambition of the club is to go for the league this season – so making sure that I had a really good off-season both balancing downtime and working in the gym working on the pitch.

I’m in a really good place at the moment so of course I’m setting goals.

But my main goal is, of course, to stay fit and fresh all season and look after my body and be ready when called upon, being at my best.

Photos: Helen M Jerome