Arsenal Women finished their latest pre-season test with a 5-1 win over Charlton Athletic at Meadow Park - but the scoreline might be the least interesting thing about the performance.
After my first visit to Meadow Park, I went back and watched the match again to understand what Renée Slegers’ Arsenal were actually trying to do.
And I think we’re beginning to see something taking shape.
We look at the developing partnership between Lisa Baum and Smilla Holmberg, why Ona Batlle and Mariona Caldentey were creating a similar overload on the opposite side, Georgia Stanway’s increasingly fascinating midfield role and why Alessia Russo appeared to be operating as a number ten behind Stina Blackstenius.
Then Renée changed seven players at half-time - and something rather important happened.
The players changed. A surprising amount of the football didn’t.
Smilla moved from attacking right-back to centre-back. Emily Fox took over the role ahead of her. Kyra Cooney-Cross and Géraldine Reuteler entered midfield. Taylor Hinds, Caitlin Foord and Lotte Wubben-Moy formed new combinations on the left. Yet many of the movements and relationships Arsenal had been building in the first half remained recognisable.
Could we finally be seeing what “Renée-ball” is supposed to look like?
There’s also an intriguing continuation from the Paris FC match. After Arsenal occasionally wanted one touch too many around the penalty area on Sunday, Renée spoke about getting the “final detail” right. Against Charlton, Arsenal were suddenly much more willing to shoot when space appeared - with spectacular results from Kyra Cooney-Cross, Olivia Smith and Frida Maanum.
We also look at Charlton’s opening goal and the communication breakdown behind it, Misa Rodríguez’s involvement in Arsenal’s build-up, Lisa Baum’s increasingly difficult-to-ignore pre-season, Géraldine beginning to find her place and why Arsenal’s extraordinary squad depth becomes much more interesting if different players can perform the same roles within the same system.
Five goals. Five different scorers. Seven half-time substitutions.
And perhaps our clearest look yet at the Arsenal Renée Slegers is trying to build for 2026/27.
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