Arsenal Women: Trailblazers

Arsenal now know their six opponents for the 2026/27 UEFA Women’s Champions League league phase: Barcelona, Lyon, Benfica, Paris FC, HB Køge and Inter Milan.In this breaking episode of Arsenal Women: Trailblazers, Roberto goes beyond simply listing the fixtures and looks at what the draw actually means for Renée Slegers and this Arsenal squad.How difficult is Barcelona away? Can Arsenal take something from Lyon at home after last season’s semi-final? Why could Paris FC be much trickier than the name suggests? How seriously should we take an Inter side who have already knocked Wolfsburg out of Europe? And which matches simply have to become three points if Arsenal are serious about finishing in the top four?There’s also a look at where the real danger lies in the draw, which opponent may be underestimated and why Arsenal’s deeper squad could become crucial once the Champions League and WSL schedules begin overlapping.Arsenal finished fifth in the league phase last season before reaching the semi-finals. This year, with a stronger squad and a full pre-season under Renée Slegers, should the target now be the top four?Follow Arsenal Women: Trailblazers wherever you listen, visit ArsenalWomenTrailblazers.com and find Roberto on Instagram at @ArsenalWomenTrailblazers.

In this episode, Roberto looks carefully at the allegations being made about Arsenal’s new No.5, tracing what can actually be established from the available evidence, what remains unproven and why repeating something hundreds of times online doesn’t make it fact.Then we get back to the football.Who is Élisa de Almeida? What sort of defender have Arsenal signed? Why has Renée Slegers added a 28-year-old with 52 France caps, 154 PSG appearances and extensive Champions League experience to a defence already containing Leah Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Steph Catley? And could her mobility and experience at both centre-back and right-back change the way Arsenal defend this season?There’s also Friday news on Olivia Smith’s forthcoming Olivia in London documentary and Georgia Stanway’s Arsenal Reddit AMA.A slightly different Trailblazers episode, but an important one: slow the conversation down, follow the evidence and then make up your own mind.Follow Arsenal Women: Trailblazers wherever you listen, visit ArsenalWomenTrailblazers.com and find Roberto on Instagram at @ArsenalWomenTrailblazers.Chapters01:35 Intro03:18 Olivia Smith: Olivia in London05:05 Georgia Stanway’s Arsenal AMA08:15 What’s actually behind the Élisa controversy?10:00 Evidence, allegations and social media18:17 Who is Élisa de Almeida the footballer?25:50 What her signing changes for ArsenalRead Georgia Stanway's AMA on Arsenal's Reddit

Arsenal’s final week of pre-season has suddenly become rather busy.Reports suggest Arsenal have agreed terms with Paris Saint-Germain for France international defender Elisa De Almeida, potentially answering the centre-back question we’ve been asking throughout the summer.Nothing has been officially announced by either club at the time of recording, so Roberto looks at what we actually know, why another specialist centre-back makes sense for Renée Slegers’ squad and what the move might tell us about Arsenal’s ambitions this season.There’s also the small matter of a football match nobody was allowed to watch.Arsenal reportedly beat Everton 6-1 in a behind-closed-doors friendly played over three 45-minute periods. Neither club has published a match report and Roberto certainly isn’t going to invent one, but a Trailblazers follower has provided the apparent Arsenal goalscorers.That information hasn’t been independently verified, so we treat it accordingly, but if correct, six different goalscorers following five against Charlton gives us another interesting clue about something we’ve been watching develop throughout pre-season: more movement, more positional rotation and potentially more places for Arsenal’s goals to come from.We also look ahead to Friday’s UEFA Women’s Champions League draw and Sunday’s WSL opener against Brighton, when pre-season theories finally have to survive an actual competitive football match.Plus, there’s a first little preview of the next Trailblazers player profile: Géraldine Reuteler.Follow Arsenal Women: Trailblazers wherever you listen to podcasts.Visit ArsenalWomenTrailblazers.comInstagram: @ArsenalWomenTrailblazersIf you enjoy the podcast, please follow or subscribe, leave a rating or review and share the episode with another Arsenal Women supporter.

Kyra Cooney-Cross has spent most of her football life ahead of schedule.She was playing professionally in Australia at 15, made her Matildas debut at 19, went to the Olympics that same year, moved to Europe at 20 and became one of the breakout midfielders of the 2023 Women’s World Cup before joining Arsenal at 21.But understanding Kyra’s story means understanding far more than the football.In this special episode of Arsenal Women: Trailblazers, Roberto traces Kyra’s journey from Queensland, Alice Springs and Ballarat through Melbourne Victory, Western Sydney Wanderers, Hammarby, the Matildas and eventually Arsenal Women.It’s also the story of her mum, Jessica Cooney, whose support and sacrifices were part of that journey from the very beginning, from long drives to training and finding the money to help a 12-year-old Kyra travel to a football tournament, through to watching her daughter play at a home World Cup and for Arsenal.We also talk about Kyra’s difficult first years in North London, the devastating loss of Jessica in July 2026, the support Kyra received from Arsenal, her teammates and supporters, and her emotional return to Meadow Park against Paris FC.Then there’s that goal against Charlton.This isn’t an attempt to turn grief into a sporting comeback story, because none of us knows what being “back” means for Kyra. It’s simply the story of an extraordinary young footballer, the mum who helped her get there and the Arsenal player we’re very pleased to see playing football again.A personal note before listening: this episode contains discussion of terminal cancer, bereavement and grief, including Roberto's own recent experience of loss.Chapters: 00:00 Kyra Cooney-Cross: Football, Family and Finding Her Way Back05:51 Where Kyra's Story Really Begins09:16 The Little Girl From Australia14:40 Professional Football at 1518:12 Sweden, Hammarby and the 2023 World Cup24:34 Arsenal and a Much Harder Challenge27:25 When Football Stopped Mattering34:42 Kyra Comes Back to Meadow Park38:43 What Does Coming Back Actually Mean?Follow Arsenal Women: Trailblazers wherever you listen to podcasts.Visit ArsenalWomenTrailblazers.comInstagram: @ArsenalWomenTrailblazersIf you enjoy the podcast, please follow or subscribe, leave a rating or review and share the episode with another Arsenal Women supporter.

What looked like a quiet Friday turned into a fairly busy Arsenal Women news round-up.We start with the Trailblazers community itself, welcoming new website members from the UK, Iceland and Australia, and hearing from Australian listener Nicki Reeves, whose message about Caitlin Foord sent us back into the Arsenal defender’s early career and reminded us why supporters from different parts of the world can sometimes see the same player very differently.Then we get into the Arsenal news.Vivienne Lia has left Arsenal permanently for Eintracht Frankfurt after progressing through the academy and several loan spells, while 18-year-old Sophie Harwood has joined Sheffield United on loan for the 2026/27 season. Two young players, two very different next steps, and a wider question about what development actually looks like when Arsenal’s senior squad already has so much competition for places.There’s plenty of recognition for the first team too. Emily Fox, Mariona Caldentey and Alessia Russo have all been selected in the PFA WSL Team of the Year for the second season running, while Olivia Smith has won PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year for the second consecutive year — this time after doing it at two different clubs.We also look at Steph Catley’s nomination for Australian PFA Player of the Year, where she is chasing a fourth overall award and a third consecutive win.Finally, Renée Slegers appears to have revealed one last Arsenal pre-season match before the WSL opener away to Brighton. We know it exists. We don’t know who Arsenal are playing, where they’re playing or very much else at all, so for now we’re sticking with the useful answer: we don’t know.Plus, Nicki Reeves has accidentally commissioned Monday’s episode. Kyra Cooney-Cross is next.Follow Arsenal Women: Trailblazers wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you enjoy the show, please rate, review and share it with another Arsenal Women supporter.Instagram: @arsenalwomentrailblazersWebsite: arsenalwomentrailblazers.com

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.Follow Arsenal Women: Trailblazers wherever you listen to podcasts, and please rate, review and share the show with another Arsenal Women supporter.Join the conversation on Instagram: @arsenalwomentrailblazersRead the essays and more at arsenalwomentrailblazers.com

Arsenal Women face Charlton Athletic at Borehamwood on Wednesday night in their final pre-season friendly before the 2026/27 WSL campaign begins.But rather than simply predicting a starting XI and a scoreline, I want to use this episode to help us watch the match a little differently.First, we get to know Charlton. They’re newly promoted to the WSL after coming agonisingly close to automatic promotion last season, and they’ve strengthened with players including Ashleigh Neville, Emily van Egmond and Leah Davidson. This isn’t simply some lower-league opposition being brought in for a gentle final run-out — it’s a team Arsenal will meet again when the matches actually count.Then we take what we learned from Sunday’s 1-0 win over Paris FC and turn it into a watching guide for Wednesday.Is the developing partnership between Lisa Baum and Smilla Holmberg part of something bigger in Renée Slegers’ system? What does Georgia Stanway do after she releases the ball? Does Arsenal’s aggressive counter-press survive changes in personnel? Can we make that final decision around the penalty area half a second earlier?We’ll also look at Géraldine Reuteler and the connections she’s still developing, Selina Cerci’s movement behind defenders, Misa Rodríguez’s distribution, Kyra Cooney-Cross continuing her return - and whether the brief Caitlin Foord right-back era has already reached its conclusion.The challenge for this one is simple: pick one thing and watch it.Take your eyes away from the ball occasionally and watch the movement around it. Then come and tell me what you saw, because we’ll use those observations when we break the Charlton match down afterwards.After this one, pre-season is over.Brighton is next.If you enjoy Arsenal Women: Trailblazers, please follow or subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share the episode with another Arsenal Women supporter. Every share helps more people discover what we’re building.

Arsenal Women beat Paris FC 1-0 thanks to Olivia Smith’s superb 91st-minute winner - but the scoreline doesn’t really explain what was happening at Borehamwood.In this episode of Arsenal Women: Trailblazers, I take a proper look at Renée Slegers’ developing 2026/27 Arsenal side and some of the things that were much easier to see once you stopped simply waiting for the goal.Why were Lisa Baum and Smilla Holmberg combining so frequently on Arsenal’s right? Why did Leah Williamson keep moving across to cover that space? What does Georgia Stanway already seem to be adding to the midfield? Why was Selina Cerci causing Paris FC problems even without scoring? And why did Géraldine Reuteler appear relatively quiet after coming on?There are also some fair concerns. Arsenal controlled long periods without creating enough clear chances, sometimes took one touch too many around the penalty area, the substitutions changed the shape considerably, and - yes - Caitlin Foord really did finish the match at right-back.But there was another side to this performance: an aggressive counter-press, players rotating intelligently to cover each other, some very encouraging new partnerships and a team that looked increasingly comfortable winning the ball back almost immediately after losing it.Paris FC deserve some credit as well. They were organised, physical, defended the penalty area extremely well and were further into their own pre-season preparations. Arsenal had to keep trying to solve the problem rather than simply play through it.Renée described the missing ingredient afterwards as the “final detail”, and that feels about right.So rather than giving you a minute-by-minute match report, this is a deeper look at what Arsenal were trying to do, what worked, what didn’t, and what this friendly might be telling us about the team Renée is building.If you enjoy Arsenal Women: Trailblazers, please follow the podcast, rate and review it, and share the episode with another Arsenal Women supporter. It genuinely helps more people discover what we’re building.