Arsenal Women are one of the most successful women’s football teams in existence. Founded in 1987, they play at Meadow Park. They are currently managed by Joe Montemurro and captained by Kim Little.
Get the latest Arsenal women’s news, match reports, opinion and transfer gossip all on this page.
Aston Villa women vs Arsenal women preview
- Aston Villa vs Arsenal
Barclays FA Women’s Super League
Sunday, February 28
Kick-off: 2pm (UK time)
Banks’s Stadium
Arsenal and Manchester United are fighting for the third and final Champions League place with United currently nine points ahead of the Gunners, who have two games in hand a better goal difference.

by Sylvain Jamet
United have 32 points from 15 games and 32-16 on goal difference, while Arsenal have 23 points from 13 games and 40-14.
In simple terms, Arsenal “only” need to win their two games in hand and beat United at home to overtake the Red Devils. Then they need to win every remaining game to guarantee Champions League qualification.
Let’s have a look at the upcoming March fixtures for the two teams:
Sun 28 February 2020
Aston Villa women vs Arsenal women is a must win for the Gunners to close the gap to six points.
Any other result would completely compromise their Champions League chances. Villa are involved in the relegation battle and recently changed manager with the former Arsenal assistant, and Birmingham co-manager, Marcus Bignot taking over.
Sun 07 March
Manchester United women vs Aston Villa women, Birmingham City WFC vs Arsenal women
Both teams need to get three points and they are the favourites to do so. We have seen teams slip up this season, so anyone dropping points this weekend will give their opponents a big boost.
Birmingham, with their limited budget and small squad, are having a very good season and will be tough to beat as they are extremely resilient.
Thu 18 Mar Arsenal v Man Utd is the BIG one and a must win for the Gunners, even a draw won’t be enough. We will have pretty much a good idea if there is Champions League qualification after that game. If not there might be a lot of changes in term of staff and personnel during the Summer.
Sun 28 March
Manchester United women vs West Ham women, Tottenham women vs Arsenal women
There are no guaranteed win in the FA WSL, so both sides will need to be at their best to get three points.
Tottenham have not beaten Arsenal ever in a women’s first team game, so far, and hopefully that record will still stand.
Both teams have been hit by injuries with United attacking players particularly singled out. Russo, James, Galton and Heath currently sit on their list.
A few of them might be back for the key games on March 18.
Arsenal’s injury list is fluctuating quite a lot and will probably be without two players Schnaderbeck and Catley for the big game.
For the Villa game, Foord, Little, Catley and Schnaderbeck will miss out due to injuries (see below) and Joe Montemurro will have a squad of 18 players to choose from.
The goalkeeper shirt could be given to Zinsberger or Williams, it is difficult to know because they are really close in term of performance.
I expect a back four of Maritz, Williamson, Beattie and McCabe.
In midfield Wälti, Nobbs and Roord to make it a very attacking side and up front Mead, Miedema and Evans or van de Donk.
On the bench, we should have many defenders and defensive midfielders: Stenson, Patten, Wubben-Moy, Maier, Gut and either van de Donk or Evans.
The team will have to win the game and I fully expect a very attacking game with Villa mixing it up between the ball playing style they have used so far this season and a new defensive approach brought in by Marcus Bignot.
Latest Arsenal women news
Arsenal women injury update ahead of Aston Villa
Jordan Nobbs
Jordan is back in full squad training and is available for selection.
Jen Beattie
Jen is back in full squad training and is available for selection.
Caitlin Foord
Caitlin has returned to elements of squad training and will be monitored in the run-up to this weekend’s fixture.
Kim Little
Kim has started her pitch-based rehab as part of her rehabilitation from her calf injury.
Steph Catley
Steph has started her pitch-based rehab as part of her rehabilitation from her hamstring injury.
Viktoria Schnaderbeck
Viki is continuing her rehabilitation from a knee injury.
More details here
Arsenal Women international call-ups
It is that time again when Arsenal Women international call-ups see players join up with their National Team and at least one of them comes back with an injury so they can miss a number of club games.

Luckily (?) enough this time, some players have not been called up due to a number reasons and, therefore, the training ground at Walthamstow should be busier than usual during an international break.
Arsenal Women international call-ups – Australia

Eligible: Lydia Williams, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord
No training camp, Steph Catley is currently injured.
Arsenal Women international call-ups – Austria

Eligible: Manuela Zinsberger, Viktoria Schnaderbeck
Austria will play a friendly tournament in Malta, the Visit Malta Women’s Trophy. Viki Schnaderbeck is currently injured, Manuela Zinsberger was called up but cannot attend due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Arsenal Women international call-ups – England

Eligible: Leah Williamson, Beth Mead, Anna Patten, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Jordan Nobbs, Fran Stenson
The Lionesses will play their first game in nearly a year with a behind closed door friendly at St George’s Park against Northern Ireland on February 23rd at 12.30pm.
The new manager, Hege Riise, has called up Leah Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Jordan Nobbs. Beth Mead has been left out due to lack of form. Anna Patten and Fran Stenson do not seem to be in the manager’s thoughts.
Arsenal Women international call-ups – Netherlands

Eligible: Danielle van de Donk, Jill Roord, Vivianne Miedema
All three have been called up for the three nations, one goal tournament.
🔶 Deze 2⃣3⃣ spelers zijn opgeroepen voor de oefeninterlands tegen België en Duitsland 👇#ThreeNationsOneGoal #BELNED #NEDDUI pic.twitter.com/0zjjZYwOeq
— OranjeLeeuwinnen (@oranjevrouwen) February 9, 2021
Arsenal Women international call-ups – Scotland

Eligible: Lisa Evans, Jennifer Beattie, Kim Little
Scotland are out of the Euros and have two remaining qualifier games to play. Both will take place in Larnaca, Cyprus due to the Covid regulations.
Kim Little misses out due to injury, while Jen Beattie, who is currently injured has been called up.
Here is your #SWNT squad to face Cyprus and Portugal this month in our final UEFA EURO 2022 Qualifiers.
🇨🇾 v 🏴 Friday 19 February 2021
🏴 v 🇵🇹 Tuesday 23 February 2021 pic.twitter.com/UMKFTxt8kJ
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) February 8, 2021
Arsenal Women international call-ups – Switzerland

Eligible: Malin Gut, Lia Walti and Noelle Maritz
All three have all been called up for the double-header against France in Metz, following the cancellation of the Tournoi de France with Norway and Iceland pulling out late.
Aufgebot / Sélection / Convocazione
🇨🇭🆚 🇳🇴 (17.2, 19h00)
🇨🇭🆚 🇫🇷 (20.2, 21h10)
🇨🇭🆚 🇮🇸 (23.2, 19h00)👉 https://t.co/AeHvUVv9wn pic.twitter.com/1bP4TMUID7
— 🇨🇭 Nati (@SFV_ASF) February 3, 2021
Arsenal Women international call-ups – Germany

Eligible: Leonie Maier
Germany will play a tri-nations tournament as part of their World Cup 2027 bid alongside the Netherlands and Belgium. Like all FA WSL German players, the Arsenal full-back has not been called up due to Covid-19 restrictions which would see the players have to quarantine on their return.
Aufgrund der Verordnung der Bundesregierung für Länder mit mutierten Coronavirus-Varianten, stehen Melanie Leupolz, Ann-Katrin Berger und Leonie Maier nicht im Aufgebot. Martina Voss-Tecklenburg verzichtet außerdem auf Turid Knaak und Lena Petermann. ➡️ https://t.co/1AlwIc6zcJ
— DFB-Frauenfußball (@DFB_Frauen) February 8, 2021
Arsenal Women international call-ups – Republic of Ireland

Eligible: Katie McCabe
No training camp for ROI who are out of the Euros 2022.
13/02/21
Arsenal women get Champions League lifeline as Manchester City thump Manchester United
Arsenal’s faint hopes of Champions League qualification were given a boost on Friday as the Citizens dominated an error prone Manchester United 3-0.

Former Gunner, Caroline Weir got the pick of the goals with this sublime chip over Mary Earps:
Special game. Special goal. Special player.
Another worldie to add to the collection, @itscarolineweir 🔥#BarclaysFAWSL #MCIMUN pic.twitter.com/tnLyvBWTAv
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) February 13, 2021
The table shows Arsenal trailing Manchester United by nine points with two games in hand and a home game against the Red Devils that could end up being crucial.
That game is scheduled for Thursday 18 March at Borehamwood.
A win for @ManCityWomen takes them above @ManUtdWomen 📊#BarclaysFAWSL pic.twitter.com/6tNK4OxgWF
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) February 12, 2021
Arsenal also have a better goal difference than Manchester United by 10 goals, so should the teams finish level on points, Joe Montemurro’s side would end up ahead of their rivals.
The Gunners attempt to travel to Aston Villa for the third time, after the original game was postponed due to Covid-19 cases and the re-scheduled game was postponed due to bad weather and a waterlogged pitch.
It is another must win game for Arsenal and it will be their third game in seven days.
Considering we have just played Manchester City and Chelsea, some players will be tired and might need a rest. There are currently five players injured and we do not need to add more to the list by overplaying them. Especially as we did have a long period without games at the start of the year.
My guess is Maier, Gut and Patten, who were unused subs in both games, will start alongside Nobbs, who is back from injury.
Maritz is also now back to fitness and should get another start.
Williams was good in goal against Chelsea and should carry on, unless Joe Montermurro wants to give a game to Stenson.
Aston Villa should not offer the same pressing threat as City or Chelsea and will therefore allow the Gunners a bit more ease in building up play from the back.
It will be a different challenge, trying to go past a low or medium defensive block. That’s why fresh legs will be needed.
So, the possible XI could look like this: Williams; Maier or Patten, Williamson, Wubben-Moy or Patten, Maritz; Wälti, Gut, Roord; van de Donk, Miedema, Mead.
Of course, the weather might again conspire to postpone this game, which will lead to a fixture pile-up later in the season.
As of today (Saturday), there are only two teams who have played the 15 games planned as per the schedule: Manchester United and Brighton.
Chelsea, Manchester City and Reading have a game in hand, with two of those teams also in the Champions League.
Arsenal, West Ham and Bristol have two games in hand, while Everton, Tottenham and Aston Villa have three games in hand.
The Arsenal know that they need to win every remaining game to have a chance of making the top three and qualification for the Champions league, unless United collapse and drop many more points.
09/02/21
Is it time to replace Joe Montemurro at Arsenal?
Arsenal slumped to another defeat against Manchester City and Champions League qualification looks near impossible for the second season, so is it time to change the manager and replace Joe Montemurro?

Arsenal missed out a big chance in their fight to secure Champions League football by losing 2-1 at home to Manchester City on a day the top two teams lost at home, something that never happens in the FA WSL.
The league table looks really grim this morning:
👀 It's getting tight at the top of the #BarclaysFAWSL… pic.twitter.com/LE7AinWcY2
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) February 7, 2021
Arsenal trail Chelsea and Manchester United by nine points and Manchester City by seven. A realistic/pessimistic view is that is it for this season and there will be no Champions League for two seasons in a row. That means time for a change.
An optimistic view is Arsenal have two games in hand over Manchester United and one over Chelsea and Manchester City. But, if we look at the WSL form table, it is hard to be optimistic.
Two wins, one draw and two defeats in the last five games is not Champions League form at all. Especially, with Chelsea on W4 L1, United W3 L2 and City W5, the problem is there for all to see. The team is not performing well right now.
Wednesday’s game at Chelsea will give us another hint towards what could happen in the summer, but there is no doubt that, should the club not qualify for the Champions League for the second season in a row, there will be growing calls for the manager to go.
Next summer might be the right time for a new manager to come in, with new ideas and the ability to change the squad and bring new players to fit their philosophy.
The best outcome right now would be for the Arsenal to finish in the top 3, qualify for the Champions League and make squad adjustments to compete next season.
But, if for some reason, and there might be many of them, the squad is fragmented due to recent events and no longer responds to the manager, it will certainly be time to change and start a new cycle.
At the end of the day, a three year, seven-month stint, with a number of trophies, would certainly qualify as a good era for the club, especially when you consider the disaster that happened after Laura Harvey left the club.
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Not your average Joe

Joe – or “Pepe”, as he prefers to be known – Montemurro wasn’t a name familiar to most football fans, even the ones who follow the women’s game. Certainly, few expected it’d be a coach from Australia replacing Pedro Martinez Losa as the manager of the Arsenal women’s team. However, Arsenal did their homework to find an interesting coach who would take the team forward.
Montemurro is, if nothing else, highly qualified.
As a player, Montemurro had spells at Brunswick Zebras in Australia, Neuchetel Xamax in Switzerland and Potenza in Italy. His playing career was predominantly spent in Australia as a midfielder until he retired and moved into coaching in 1995. From that point, it was all about education and learning from his idols.
Montemurro spent much of his coaching career hopping between various youth set-ups in Australia. From 2001 to 2006, he headed three different teams and had reasonable success. Green Gully Soccer Club, a Melbourne-based club that participated in the Victoria Premier League, was his first big break. He took their u21 side to second place in his first year. He then moved on to coach the youth team of the Melbourne Knights, who were then playing in the now defunct National Soccer League. It was during the 2002-03 season that he guided them to the play-off to become the National Youth Champions. When the National Soccer League folded in 2004, Montemurro was offered a senior position in the Victorian Premier League. However, he opted to stay in youth football, and moved on to cross-town rivals South Melbourne.
It wasn’t until 2006 that he made the set-up to senior football. His record at South Melbourne saw him drafted in by Sunshine George Cross. The Georgies, as they were known, were struggling near the bottom of the Victorian Premier League. Montemurro was tasked with keeping them up and, with a draw against Melbourne Knights on the final day of the season, he did exactly that. He parted ways in mid-2007 to take on a role at Hume City, who he guided to promotion. After that was a brief stint with North West Wanderers, before returning to youth football in 2010 with South Melbourne.
Next, Major step up…
Major step up
It was in 2014 that he got his first major job coaching in women’s football. Having gained his UEFA A license, he was appointed head coach for women’s football at the National Training Centre in Melbourne. His work there saw him become a youth coach with the Melbourne Victory Women’s team, who he guided to their highest league position in their history, before trading clubs again, this time to Melbourne City, the newest acquisition of the Manchester City Football Group.
When Melbourne City’s women’s team joined the Australian Women’s League, Montemurro became their head coach. It was here that he had his biggest successes, and likely came to Arsenal’s attention. In his first season in charge, Melbourne City went the entire campaign without losing, scoring 42, conceding just five and winning the league and cup double, all in their maiden season in the division. His second season wasn’t quite as impressive, as they finished fourth in the league. However, it still ended in success as they went to win the play-offs and be crowned Champions for a second season running.
In the meantime, his role with City had expanded to include assisting with the men’s team in the A-League. By 2017, he had become the Chief Assistant Coach, and had to relinquish control of the women’s team. 10 months later, he took up his first job outside of Melbourne: Arsenal, all the way over in London.
It’s unknown when Arsenal became aware of Montemurro’s talents, but they might have received a recommendation from Kim Little. The Scottish midfielder spent a single season on loan at Melbourne City, while she was contracted to the American side Seattle Reign. She was a part of that unbeaten season, where she scored 9 goals in 12 appearances. She was happy to hear that her coach from that time was coming to Arsenal, and optimistic that he could get Arsenal back to title-winning ways.
“I worked with him for four months and I played out in Melbourne in the W League there, and I really enjoyed working with him.” Little told Arsenal.com.
“He likes to coach and play the way that I enjoy playing, which is playing good football with a purpose with a kind of relaxed atmosphere around the team.
“I played under him for quite a short period of time, but we had a great team there and we played possession based football, playing through the thirds with a purpose trying to break teams down as quickly and effectively as possible.
“Everybody doesn’t know too much about Joe, because he has obviously been coaching in Melbourne, but we’re all looking forward to him coming in, putting his stamp on the team and taking us forward in terms of performance.”
Next, Playing philosophy…
Playing philosophy
Montemurro himself describes his playing philosophy as fluid. He believes in having “thinking footballers” – players who can, in any situation, make the right decision on the pitch – who can play proactive football. For him, football is less about individual styles, and more about a holistic style.
Upon his appointment as coach of Melbourne Victory, he said: “I’ve always been fluid in my philosophy. Big statements like “I’m a ball possession playing side”, I personally don’t know any team that doesn’t want the ball. I think that’s just the base of the game.
“We will always play a game where football decisions are made. I will always give the ammunition to players to make the right decisions on the park. We will be well organised, I’m a detail freak, and we will always play a beautiful attacking brand of football. A technical base of football is always where we are heading.”
Australian publication The Football Sack described Montemurro as one of the most qualified Australian coaches around. He completed his UEFA A license and worked on a UEFA Pro Diploma with the Italian football federation. On top of that, he has a Masters in Sports Coaching from the University of Queensland. There is no aspect of coaching that he has left untouched.
While Arsenal got a good tactician, they also got someone who clearly values the human and psychological side of coaching. Montemurro names “personality” and “character” as the fundamentals of being a good coach, along with having a clear strategy on how the game should be played. He aims to make his players better people as well as better footballers as, in his words, not every girl will go on to become a professional footballer. His choice of favourite coaches is revealing on its own: Marcelo Bielsa, Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti head his list due to their willingness to go deep into group dynamics as well as tactics.
He may need all of his people skills to leave his mark on a growing squad of international stars and manage huge expectations. His task at Arsenal was to get the team playing cohesively again, shore up some long-standing defensive issues and take the club to a first title since 2012. Up against the considerable might of Chelsea and Manchester City, that was no small task.
Montemurro has proven to be adaptable and knowledgeable in his career so far. The move to English football was a big change for him, but it seems to be one he is more than up for.
23 July 2020
Is Arsenal’s 20-player-squad good enough to win the Champions League?

In a month’s time Arsenal’s women’s team will be in Spain trying to conquer Europe for a second time following their 2006/07 triumph and ahead of that the club have released both the new kit and squad numbers, but is the squad big enough?
The Champions League final eight play in the Basque Country where Arsenal will face France’s perennial runners-up, PSG, in the quarter-finals.
Thursday’s kit launch gave us the first pictures of the new recruits and their squad numbers.
Unless there is a new signing before the UEFA deadline on 18 August, we will have 20 professional players as follows:
Goalkeepers (3): 1. Manuela Zinsberger, 18. Lydia Williams, 24. Frances Stenson.
Defenders (7): 5. Jennifer Beattie, 6. Leah Williamson, 12. Stephanie Catley, 16. Noelle Maritz, 17. Lisa Evans, 20. Leonie Maier, 22. Viktoria Schnaderbeck.
Midfielders (5): 8. Jordan Nobbs, 10. Kim Little, 13. Lia Wälti, 14. Jill Roord, 21. Malin Gut.
Forwards (5): 7. Danielle van de Donk, 9. Beth Mead, 11. Vivianne Miedema, 15. Katie McCabe, 19. Caitlin Foord.
It’s worth noting that most players can actually play in at least three positions on the pitch as Joe Montemurro like players who are intelligent and flexible enough to play all over the pitch.
The five players in bold are those who will be added to the current Champions League squad as per the new regulations that allow six new signings, including a maximum of three from any other team still in the competition.
As UEFA allows a maximum of 25 players overall to be registered, it means another player can be added to Arsenal’s squad. It could be an Academy youngster, like Ruby Mace who is regularly training with the first team.
The other Academy player regularly training with them, Melisa Filis, is already registered in the Champions League squad.
So can this squad win the tournament?

The answer is yes, but it will not be easy.
The two favourites, Lyon and Wolfsburg, have really strong squads and all the teams still in the competition have signed a good numbers of players prior to the final eight mini-tournament.
Should Arsenal beat PSG, they would likely meet Lyon and that is a really tough game, unless FC Bayern managed to upset the holders.
Then in the final it is likely to be Wolfsburg, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, and our former keeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin. Glasgow City are also still in the running but will play Wolfsburg in the quarter-final and it would be a giant upset if they beat the German champions.
There is a lot of strength in depth in Arsenal’s team. A lot more than last season and it is definitely needed as they could play three games to be played in nine days. With five subs allowed per game, the whole squad is likely to be involved should we go through to the final.
As there is not much time to integrate the new players, and we do not know yet how many friendlies will be played before the tournament next month, it is likely that the starting 11 against PSG will be very close to the one from last season.
I would expect this one: Zinsberger; Maier or Evans, Williamson, Beattie, Catley or McCabe; Wälti, Little, Nobbs; Van de Donk, Miedema, Mead or McCabe.
Hopefully, we can add another signing, though, as 18 outfield players would be a decent number that would provide proper cover when injuries inevitably occur during the season.
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5 September 2020
Winners, losers, Champions League places: FA WSL 2020/21 predictions
With the FA WSL new season starting on Sunday, it is prediction time! Who will win the 20/21 FA WSL, who will be relegated, and who will fight it out for the three Champions League places?
I believe we will see a three-tier league with teams fighting for Champions League places, the top half of the table and, finally, the relegation battle.
Teams likely to be involved in the FA WSL relegation battle

Birmingham City women (11th last season)
A summer player exodus has happened for the second season in a row with 10 players leaving the season before and 7 this summer. That exodus has not been fully covered with six new signings made last year and five so far in this transfer window.
Birmingham have been very good in bringing Academy players through the ranks into the first team to cover for the small number of signings. They have a clear pathway for youth players and should be applauded for it when other teams just go abroad to buy ready-made players.
The fact that they also named Carla Ward as their manager recently did not help. It looks like someone else got offered the job and then decided not to take it, making it a late appointment for the club. The Blues have a small squad but have been boosted by the arrival of Rachel Corsie, the experienced Scotland captain. As long as they don’t get hit by injuries, they should be able to compete without problem against most teams.
Bristol City women (10th)
Another team with a limited budget and smaller squad. Bristol lost two experienced players and two promising youngsters during the transfer window. They signed two Australian players, Chloe Logarzo who arrived just before the pandemic started, and Ella Mastrantonio. Aimee Palmer returned after a two years spell at Man United and they got the excellent left-back from Liverpool Jemma Purfield. Megan Wynne, the Welsh wing-back was signed permanently but unfortunately did her ACL in pre-season.
So, they are likely to be drawn into the relegation battle. But, back in 2018/19, they were also expected to be involved in it and ended up in the top half of the table, so should not be underestimated.
Aston Villa women (promoted)
This prediction can be construed as a lazy assumption. Aston Villa are of course a bit of an unknown quantity. Last season the promoted teams Manchester United finished in fourth place and Tottenham in 7th place, so Aston Villa could finish in the top half of the table rather than fight to avoid relegation.
Like any team turning professional, Aston Villa made big changes in their squad with seven players coming in and eight leaving the club. They signed Chloe Arthur from Birmingham and Anita Asante from Chelsea alongside five players from abroad, including one of the back-up goalkeeper from Champions League winners Lyon Lisa Weiss.
The big question is how quickly can they gel to become a team on the pitch. For the players who were semi-professional last year and turned professional, how quickly will they adapt from evening training three times a week to daily training. There is certainly a lot of well-known attacking quality in the Villa team so you would expect them to score the goals to keep them up.
Teams likely to reach mid-table position in the FA WSL

Brighton and Hove Albion women (9th)
Last season, Hope Powell’s team were safe early enough with a couple of wins pulling them away from Liverpool and Birmingham to relative safety. Their PPG result was indeed nearly double of relegated Liverpool and they stayed up very comfortably.
They have had quite a turnover with nine players leaving and seven new signings including the Irish playmaker Denise O’Sullivan (on loan), who has been very successful in the NWSL with the North Carolina Courage.
You can see that Hope Powell has been trying to build a team with a solid base in her first season. She then improved the overall attacking creativity last season and is carrying on in the same pathway this year. Building up the team from solid foundations.
West Ham United women (8th)
A busy Summer for Matt Beard with nine departures and eight arrivals. Quite an international recruitment drive with Cezch, French, Australian, Swedish and also some promising English talent also signed. Adding Rachel Daly until the winter break means they have a very solid starting 11 and quite a large squad. They should really aim for 6th place at least.
Tottenham Hotspur women (7th)
Spurs are building on last season’s success. They have made an adjustment transfer window by letting go a few players that were not at the required level for them. Four experienced players have come in Williams, Harrop, Zadorsky and Kennedy.
Like West Ham, they should aim for at least 6th place or higher.
Reading women (5th)
Nine players have left and six have come in, so Reading will have a slightly smaller squad this season. Experience and quality have been signed with Mitchell, Carter, Fishlock and Nayler. Another solid starting 11, but the lack of depth might expose them should they become hit by injuries and suspensions.
It is interesting to note that they have been making noises about trying to get to third place and are very ambitious this season. Their strategy of adding quality but eeping fewer players in the squad is similar to Arsenal’s.
Teams fighting for the 3 Champions League places in the FA WSL
Manchester United women (4th)

Casey Stoney built a solid and resilient team last season and finished a creditable fourth place for their first FA WSL term. She has improved some positions in her starting 11 with three good signings and the main problem of scoring goals should now be solved with the arrival on loan from Tobin Heath and Christen Press.
They will be definitely fighting for the top places with the two World Cup winners signing up.
Everton women (6th)

Willie Kirk is ambitious and has signed seven players with six leaving the club. Seasoned internationals like Ingrid Moe Wold, Rikke Sevecke, Valerie Gauvain and Nicoline Sorensen. Hayley Raso and Isobel Christiansen will be like new signings even if they signed in the previous window. A highly rated left-back has arrived in Poppy Pattinson and she could be lining up for the Lionesses by the end of the season.
Kirk has certainly improved the skill level in the team and also added strength in depth. If all those new signings can gel quickly, they have more than enough quality to fight for third place.
Manchester City women (2nd)

New manager, new ideas for a squad that was maybe underperforming a little under Nick Cushing as seen in the Champions League. They were eliminated by Atletico Madrid two seasons in a row. This has actually contributed greatly to England losing the third place in the UEFA WCL association rankings to Spain and means the 2020/21 FA WSL champions will have to play a qualifying round instead of entering the Champions League at the group stage level.
City have been a big signing spree with two World Cup winners, two Lionesses and two young English promising players all arriving. Samantha Mewis, Rose Lavelle, Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood, Chloe Kelly and Esme Morgan back from loan is a top quality transfer window.
They have a big squad which means the same problem as Chelsea ie how to keep everybody happy. They are certainly joint-favourites to win the title after missing out last year.
Chelsea women (1st)

Joint-favourites to win the title alongside Manchester City. Four players have left the club and four quality signings have come in. A world class forward in Pernille Harder, a top midfielder in Melanie Leupolz and two young forwards Niamh Charles and the young, but already experienced, Jessie Fleming.
Top class attacking football is guaranteed at Kingsmeadow this season. The only question mark is how will Emma Hayes keep all her players happy and share the playing time. They have strength in depth and so much quality, which is needed as they are trying to win six trophies this season, one of which is already in the bag.
Arsenal women (3rd)

A good transfer window for Joe Montemurro with five senior players departing and four players signed. All incomings have been defensive signings with two defenders Steph Catley and Noelle Maritz, one goalkeeper Lydia Williams and one defensive midfielder Malin Gut.
The team has now a bit more strength in depth than in the previous two seasons. We have 17 outfield players and three goalkeepers, one of them who is currently injured. There is also one Academy player, Ruby Mace who turns 17 on 5 September, that boosts the team to a squad of 21.
Is Arsenal’s squad good enough to compete in the FA WSL and three cups?

Squad rotation is not a problem as the manager does it on regular basis and players are extremely versatile. Arsenal have to do better in head-to-head games against Chelsea and Man City, while carrying on getting all the points against the ”weaker” teams.
Arsenal will be in the Champions League places race for sure and should the injury curse give them a break this year, they will be title candidates, although it will not be easy to compete with the two joint-favourites.