On Matchday 18 of the FA WSL season, Arsenal Ladies gained revenge against the team that eliminated them from the runners-up and last Champions League place with a 5-3 away win, but it was too little too late.

The table does not lie:

1 Manchester City 42 pts W13 D3 L0 GD +32

2 Chelsea 37 pts W12 D1 L3 GD +25

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3 Arsenal 32 pts W10 D2 L4 GD +19

Arsenal Ladies therefore failed to qualify for the Champions League for the fourth season in a row. In term of results, it is really a question of seeing the glass half-full or half-empty.

Alex Scott’s instragram picture clearly shows the glass is half-full and rightly so.

Consistency in winning trophies is something that the Arsenal Ladies bring to the party every year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMfFuY-Ax13/?taken-by=alexscott2

The last four seasons has seen the team win either the FA Women’s Cup or the FA WSL Conti cup. It looks like the team has clearly got into a habit of being strong in one-off games but now lacks consistency to challenge for the title during the entire season.

2016

3rd, 10 points behind Man City and five points behind Chelsea (16-game season unlike previous ones that were 14-game seasons)

2015

3rd, five points behind Chelsea and three points behind Man City

2014

4th, five points behind Liverpool and Chelsea and four points behind Birmingham

2013

3rd, six points behind Liverpool and one point behind Bristol

With the expected squad cull coming our way soon and another rebuilding phase about to start, we have to wonder how ready the team will be come next season.

Luckily enough, it is ten months away as the women’s game moves to a winter schedule like the me, so there is ample time to gel and prepare to mount a serious assault on the title come September 2017.

Congratulations to the staff, admins and players for another trophy in 2016 and heres to an improved League campaign next year!