Arsenal Women are in La Manga as preparations for the 2026/27 season continue - and apparently we needed to establish whether Leah Williamson actually got on the plane.
She did. We can calm down.
In this episode of Arsenal Women: Trailblazers, I’m catching up on exactly where Arsenal are in pre-season, what we know about the training camp in Spain and what comes next, including the two confirmed matches at Meadow Park against Paris FC on Sunday 23 August and Charlton Athletic on Wednesday 26 August.
I’m also answering some of your questions.
Zoe Stephens wants to know exactly what we can establish about Arsenal’s behind-closed-doors win over Crystal Palace, including Caitlin Foord’s involvement and those two completely different elevens. That takes us into a wider conversation about why clubs play private pre-season friendlies, where information about those matches actually comes from and why sometimes the most accurate answer I can give you is simply: we don’t know.
Head of the Irish Trailblazers Ciara Mallon wants to know whether the Paris FC and Charlton games will be televised or streamed - something I’ll be keeping a close eye on as soon as Arsenal release more information.
And Madison Reed wants to take a banner to the Emirates asking Leah Williamson for her shirt. We’ve got the stadium rules she needs, but her question also prompted some rather unnecessary comments online about Leah, which got me thinking about something else: when somebody, particularly a younger or newer supporter, asks an innocent question because they’re excited about supporting one of our players, why are some people so determined to take the fun out of it?
There’s plenty we’ll discover about Arsenal over the next few weeks. There’s also plenty we simply don’t know yet.
And that’s okay.
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