Arsenal currently have 25 professionals under contract, but further signings and the need for another goalkeeper and centre-back could leave the squad badly overcrowded.
Arsenal will compete in only three competitions next season, compared with five in 2025/26. That raises an important question about squad size, and whether the club need to register the maximum 25 players for both the Barclays Women’s Super League and the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
The registration rules for the two competitions differ.
The WSL requires eight homegrown players, while UEFA requires at least four club-trained players and four association-trained players for a full 25-player List A.
UEFA permits eligible under-21 players to be registered on List B, provided they have completed enough seasons with the club.
The WSL allows under-21 players with professional contracts to be registered with the academy squad.
Arsenal currently have 25 professional players under contract, following the departures of Laia Codina, Katie McCabe, Beth Mead, Victoria Pelova, Barbora Votikova, Naomi Williams and Manuela Zinsberger.
Young midfielder Laila Harbert is also expected to move to San Diego Wave, where she would work with Jonas Eidevall again.
The women’s transfer window in England opened on 16 June and closes at 11pm UK time on 3 September.
Arsenal’s current squad, listed by position, is:
Goalkeepers: Daphne van Domselaar, Anneke Borbe
Defenders: Emily Fox, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Leah Williamson, Steph Catley, Taylor Hinds, Katie Reid, Smilla Holmberg, Cecily Wellesley-Smith, Sophie Harwood
Midfielders: Mariona Caldentey, Kim Little, Frida Maanum, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Vivienne Lia, Maddy Earl
Forwards: Olivia Smith, Rosa Kafaji, Chloe Kelly, Caitlin Foord, Alessia Russo, Stina Blackstenius, Michelle Agyemang, Jessie Gale
If Arsenal complete as many as five reported signings, Ona Batlle, Geraldine Reuteler, Georgia Stanway, Lisa Baum and Selina Cerci, the squad would increase to 30 players.
Signing an experienced third goalkeeper would make sense. The alternative would be to give 17-year-old academy goalkeeper Amy Liddiard a professional contract and a significantly larger role.
Another centre-back would also be expected, either as a starter or as third or fourth choice. That could take the squad to 32 players, meaning seven would probably need to leave permanently or on loan.
The six most likely candidates would appear to be Wellesley-Smith, Harwood, Lia, Earl, Kafaji and Gale, with possibly one further departure.
Reid, Agyemang, Harwood, Lia, Earl and Gale are eligible to be registered with the WSL academy under-21 squad. However, Arsenal would still need to ensure that their senior list contained the required eight homegrown players.
The UEFA position is more straightforward. Arsenal have more than the four required club-trained players through Wubben-Moy, Williamson, Hinds, Reid, Little, Kelly and Agyemang. Russo is also association-trained, helping the club meet UEFA’s overall quota of eight locally trained players.
Speaking after the Aston Villa match, Renee Slegers suggested that she may not want a full 25-player senior squad.
“We spoke about it yesterday in the press conference, for us to get the balance right, because it’s also, if you have a very big squad and everyone is available, everyone is fit and then you can only travel with a squad of 20 because there’s no more players allowed on the team sheet- that’s not the situation I would want to be in. You want everyone to be involved and everyone contributing.”
There is no doubt that leaving five fit players out of a matchday squad can create discontent. The reality, however, is that Arsenal have rarely had 25 players available at the same time over the past five seasons because of injuries and suspensions.
Arsenal will compete in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the Barclays Women’s Super League and the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, with the aim of challenging for all three trophies.
A 25-player senior squad, supported by a small number of academy players, should therefore be necessary across the full season.
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