Arsenal Women celebrated a first Champions League title in 18 years back in May as Renne Slegers guided her side to a momentous victory over defending champions Barcelona on a famous night in Lisbon.
Fast forward just a few months, however, and the Gunners are struggling for consistency. A series of disappointing performances and results so far this term means there’s plenty of work to be done if they’re to retain the title they won so impressively.
Up and down start for reigning Champions
Arsenal’s Champions League 2025/26 campaign can be best described as a mixed bag.
OL Lyonnes and Bayern Munich both got the better of the Gunners, winning by a single goal. But victories over Benfica and, most recently, against Real Madrid mean the picture is somewhat rosier going into the final two game days.
Those fixtures, at home to FC Twente and away in Belgium at OH Leuven, look winnable, on paper at least, with maximum points likely to give Arsenal every chance of making the top four of the new eighteen-team league phase and qualifying directly for the Quarter Finals.
While finishing outside the first four positions wouldn’t be a disaster, it would mean facing a play-off tie and having to navigate a busy fixture schedule early in 2026, something boss Renne Slegers could do without.
Arsenal outsiders for the crown according to bookies
An unconvincing start suggests a repeat of last season’s achievement is beyond them this year, a view shared by UK & Irish sports betting sites, who have Arsenal at 12/1 to win the competition for a second successive year.
Last year’s beaten finalists, Barcelona, are the clear favourites (8/13), with Chelsea (9/2) and eight-time winners, OL Lyonnes (5/1) also in the mix.
Both OL Lyonnes and Barcelona remain unbeaten in this year’s tournament and look a safe bet for the knockout stages, given the points on the board and the remaining fixtures.
Despite their domestic dominance in recent years, Chelsea Women have yet to win the Champions League, with their best effort coming as runners-up to Barcelona in 2021.
Worst start to a domestic season since 2014
Arsenal’s lack of consistency isn’t just holding them back in the Champions League. The Gunners, who many experts tipped to build on their European success by winning a first WSL title since 2018/19, are off the pace domestically too.
A series of draws has them sitting in fourth place with almost half the campaign already played. And while the league position won’t concern Arsenal fans so much, the eight-point gap between themselves and Manchester City Women will.
It was expected that Arsenal would be the team to give serial winners, Chelsea, a run for their money this season. However, only City, who’ve won all but one of their opening nine games, seem capable of ending Chelsea’s dominance at the moment.
What’s gone wrong?
Injuries to key players have played their part. Captain Kim Little missed the London derby against Chelsea and the defeat to Bayern Munich, but it’s the absence of vice captain Leah Williamson, sidelined since picking up a knee injury during England’s successful Euro 2025 campaign, that has arguably been felt the most.
The England skipper’s return to full fitness will provide Arsenal with a timely boost, especially given academy graduate Katie Reid has been ruled out until next year with an ACL injury. 18-year-old Reid has been a revelation in her debut season while deputising, ironically, for Williamson.
But there are other issues to address, particularly for manager Renne Slegers.
A big one is where to play Alessia Russo. Should it be as a striker or as a number 10? The versatile forward has mostly played behind Stina Blackstenius this season, but demonstrated her finishing ability in the all-important victory against Real Madrid, scoring both goals after being moved into her favoured striker role, which has been a familiar pattern of late.
Can Arsenal turn their season around?
While the campaign so far hasn’t been good enough, there’s little doubt that Arsenal possess the quality and winning mentality to turn things around.
Add to that the return of key personnel to the fold, and we could see a much more assured Arsenal going forward.
Closing the gap to the top two in the WSL will be the immediate priority, equally achieving a top 4 place in the new-look league phase of the Champions League and, with it, a smoother route to the knockout stage.
What’s certain is that there’s little margin for error; Arsenal need to be near-perfect from hereon in.