The waiting is over. Arsenal Women begin their 2026/27 WSL season away at Brighton & Hove Albion, and this may not be quite the gentle opening fixture some supporters would have chosen.
Roberto looks ahead to Sunday’s game at Crawley, including Brighton’s summer changes, their pre-season against PSG and Barcelona, the arrival of new head coach Arturo Ruiz and the players Arsenal will need to keep an eye on, including former Gunner Lia Wälti, Fran Kirby and Kiko Seike.
We also look back at Arsenal’s last five meetings with Brighton, including two difficult recent trips away, before turning to Renée Slegers and what six weeks of pre-season might have taught us about the new Arsenal.
Can the rotations and connections we’ve been seeing survive a proper WSL match? Does Arsenal now have enough different ways to solve a stubborn opponent? And with almost everybody fit, who should start?
There’s also a quick reaction to London City Lionesses’ 2-1 opening-night victory over Manchester United, including Daniëlle van de Donk’s brilliant goal, Alexia Putellas’ WSL debut and what the result might tell us about both clubs this season.
A 1-4 Arsenal win score prediction from Roberto, now over to you.
Follow Arsenal Women: Trailblazers wherever you listen, visit ArsenalWomenTrailblazers.com and find Roberto on Instagram at @ArsenalWomenTrailblazers.