Arsenal Women: Trailblazers

After the frustration of Paris, Renée Slegers is back in front of the media and, this time, she’s given us plenty to talk about before Arsenal Women travel to Manchester City on Sunday.Renée explains why she chose to stay with her players rather than face the media after Wednesday’s 2-2 draw, describes the strongest leadership she’s seen during her time in football and insists this Arsenal group has come together rather than fractured during a difficult run.But now we need to see what that looks like on the pitch.Manchester City might be flying in the WSL, but Real Madrid caused them serious problems in Europe on Thursday night, taking the lead, creating opportunities and coming extremely close to winning it late on. So what can Arsenal learn from Madrid, and where can they hurt City?I look at the team Renée might select, Chloe Kelly’s absence, the latest on Steph Catley, the goalkeeper question and whether this is finally the moment to make greater use of Selina Cerci and Géraldine Reuteler.And after weeks of talking about what isn’t working, I set out what I’ll be watching for at the Etihad that might tell us Arsenal are beginning to find their way again.Plus, my prediction for Manchester City vs Arsenal Women.

For about an hour in Paris, it looked like we were finally going to have a different conversation about Arsenal Women.Alessia Russo scored her first goal of the season, Georgia Stanway scored her first Arsenal goal and, at 2-0 up, Arsenal appeared to be finding some of the attacking answers we’ve spent the last few weeks looking for.Then it unravelled.In this episode, I work through how Arsenal allowed Paris FC back into a game they should have won, what happened to the defensive rotations we saw working so well in pre-season and why I’m becoming increasingly confused by some of Renée Slegers’ squad decisions.We also need to talk about Selina Cerci and Géraldine Reuteler. I also address one important question around Géraldine: she is fit, ready to play and there are no injury concerns preventing Arsenal from using her. So why are we barely seeing her?Then there’s that extraordinary late penalty. I’ve checked the law, we’ll work through what the referee appears to have seen and why, despite how bizarre the incident was, I don’t think Arsenal can use it to explain away the result.And with Manchester City coming on Sunday, we finish by separating what we know about Arsenal’s current problems from some of the much bigger claims being made online, particularly for those younger supporters who might be feeling pretty worried about their team right now.

Arsenal lost 1-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but after watching the game again, Roberto thinks the conversation needs to go beyond another afternoon of missed chances.For the opening half an hour Arsenal were good. They controlled the game, caused Chelsea problems and hit the woodwork twice. But once again, when the opportunity came to shoot or make the decisive pass, that extra touch kept appearing.And then came the substitutions.Why did Renée Slegers turn first to Caitlin Foord and Stina Blackstenius when Selina Cerci, Géraldine Reuteler and Smilla Holmberg offer something different? Why did Arsenal appear more disjointed after the changes? And what should we make of Kim Little reportedly asking the bench, “Am I the six now?”With Arsenal taking just five points from their opening four WSL games and scoring only twice, Roberto asks whether this is still simply a finishing problem, or whether questions now need to be asked about the tactics, decision-making and clarity coming from the coaching staff.This is not a call for Renée to go, nor is there evidence she has lost the dressing room. But for the first time since Slegers took charge, there are some serious questions that Arsenal need to start answering.Get involved in the conversation over on Instagram @arsenalwomentrailblazers or in the comments on the written article that accompanies this episode at https://www.arsenalwomentrailblazers.com/chelsea-1-0-arsenal-is-arsenals-problem-now-bigger-than-finishing

Arsenal head to Stamford Bridge on Sunday after a difficult start to the WSL season, but could Chelsea away be exactly the game Renée Slegers’ side need?In this preview, Roberto looks at why Chelsea’s more aggressive approach could finally give Arsenal’s attacking players the space they’ve been missing, the risks that come with that, and the individual battles that could shape the game.There’s also the big selection question. Does Kyra Cooney-Cross start after her Player of the Match performance against Køge? Who plays alongside Mariona Caldentey and Georgia Stanway? Does Chloe Kelly get the nod? And surely it’s finally time to see Géraldine Reuteler in an Arsenal shirt?Plus, Katie McCabe prepares to face Arsenal as a Chelsea player, Olivia Smith could find herself up against Lucy Bronze and Roberto makes his prediction for Stamford Bridge.

Emily Fox is staying at Arsenal!Arsenal Women have confirmed that Fox has signed a new contract and we're taking the opportunity to look beyond the announcement at just how important she's become since arriving in January 2024, what makes her such a special full-back and why the emergence of Smilla Holmberg could make the next few seasons even more interesting.There's also the latest Arsenal injury picture ahead of Chelsea, including Élisa De Almeida, Daphne van Domselaar, Katie Reid and Michelle Agyemang.Plus, we head into the Arsenal academy for the first of what could become regular Trailblazers updates, with the U21s enjoying a strong week and four youngsters registered for the Champions League.And finally... Disney+ have explained why those of us watching Arsenal against HB Køge suddenly found ourselves watching adverts while the match was still being played.The Chelsea preview is coming tomorrow. For today, here's everything happening around Arsenal Women.

Arsenal Women have started their Champions League campaign with three points, but they left it incredibly late against HB Køge at Meadow Park.Mariona Caldentey’s stoppage-time penalty eventually secured a 1-0 win after Selina Cerci drove into the box and forced the challenge, but the numbers tell you plenty about the 90 minutes that came before it: 70% possession, 21 shots and only two on target.So why are Arsenal still finding it so difficult to turn all of that possession and attacking territory into good chances?In this episode, Roberto looks at Arsenal’s decision-making in the final third, another impressive performance from Smilla Holmberg, the directness Kyra Cooney-Cross brought to midfield, Chloe Kelly’s threat and why Cerci offered something different when she finally arrived.There’s also credit for an extremely well-organised HB Køge side and a promising first Arsenal start for Anneke Borbe.Arsenal have the three points. Now they need to find the goals.