Arsenal’s season is threatening to unravel, with defensive frailties, a blunt attack and increasingly puzzling selection decisions leaving Renée Slegers under growing pressure. Can the Dutch coach find the answers, or do the problems run deeper than results suggest?
The noise around Renée Slegers is becoming impossible to drown out. Every poor result adds another decibel, and when the boos rang out at the Emirates on Saturday, the discontent was no longer confined to social media; it had reached the stands.
Arsenal’s 1–1 draw with Birmingham City, a side still searching for its first win of their new WSL era, laid bare a team short of attacking conviction and defensive authority, while becoming the second time this season that Slegers side have failed to beat newly promoted opposition at home – their longest such run against those teams in the competition. The Gunners only found any real impetus after falling behind.
The result extended their winless league run to five games, the longest in the club’s history. The irony is stark: barely three matches earlier, Arsenal had been celebrating a record 20-game unbeaten league run. Now, their season is unravelling just as quickly as it once gathered momentum.
Slegers remained composed in her post-match interview, but her words carried a significance that her demeanour concealed.
For the first time, she openly acknowledged that change might be necessary: “Everything I want is the best for us, and all the best for these players,” she said. “I think if that’s not the case anymore, then a change needs to happen. But I have belief in knowing where we can go with this team.”
The question is whether that belief is being matched by evidence on the pitch. Arsenal look increasingly susceptible defensively and toothless against low blocks. Their attacking patterns lack variation, their personnel and positional roles invite questions, and Slegers’ continued reshuffling of the starting XI raises doubts over whether she has identified a system capable of consistently getting the best out of it.
Before the international break, the Arsenal boss insisted that the title race was “not in the conversation.” Now, the more immediate concern seems to be whether Arsenal can salvage their push for Champions League qualification, with a nine-point gap to close on third-place London City Lionesses. Europe is far from a foregone conclusion and complacency is no longer an option.
The question, then, is not simply whether Slegers can turn Arsenal’s season around, but whether the problems run deeper than just results; into the team’s tactical structure, the leadership, and their ability to impose themselves on opponents. Because until Arsenal find answers to those questions, the noise is unlikely to subside.
Defensive Fragility
Arsenal’s defence has been assailable at times, rarely more illustrated than the bizarre decision made by vice-captain Lotte Wubben-Moy failing to intercept Neve Herron’s ball that split the Gunners’ defence in two.
Birmingham attempted three shots from fast breaks against Arsenal; only Aston Villa, with four also against the Gunners in April 2025, have managed more in a WSL match. More concerningly, Birmingham did not win possession in Arsenal’s final third for any of those opportunities, demonstrating how effectively they could threaten from deeper positions.
Indeed, Arsenal have now conceded six shots from fast breaks this season, with only Liverpool conceding more (seven). They have also conceded two goals from such situations, the joint-most in the league alongside Liverpool and London City.
One explanation for that is their carelessness on the ball.
Arsenal are losing possession 147.8 times per game, their highest average since 2023-24 (151.4). Yet, they are facing just seven shots per game, the second-lowest average in a WSL season in their recorded history, behind only 2025-26 (6.9).
That apparent contradiction is revealing. Arsenal are not allowing opponents to shoot frequently, but their defensive lapses are proving costly when they do.
The broader expected-goals (xG) data reinforces the concern. Arsenal are conceding 0.91 expected goals against (xGA) per game, their second-highest figure after the 2024-25 campaign (0.95). Moreover, the Gunners’ 0.94 expected goals on target against (xGOT) per game is also among their highest seasonal averages, while their xG per shot faced of 0.13 is a record high for the club.
Williamson’s role in this decline deserves scrutiny, although the data offers a more nuanced picture than a straightforward loss of form.
The England captain remains one of Slegers’ most trusted defenders, but questions over her performances have intensified since the knee injury she sustained during Euro 2025. Her individual numbers, however, suggest that her distribution remains a strength.
Against Birmingham, she completed 89 passes – her highest total in a WSL match since January 2025 against Crystal Palace. She is averaging 20.2 successful passes into the final third per 90 minutes, a figure surpassed only in 2023-24 (21.4), while her 1.67 chances created and 0.16 expected assists per 90 are career-best seasonal figures in the league.
There have been reminders of her quality, too. Her delivery for Mariona Caldentey, Selina Cerci have left Slegers short of options in attacking areas. Yet the club recruited Stina Blackstenius. The results offer little encouragement: Arsenal have won 53.3% of their WSL matches when the two have started together, compared with 68.4% when at least one has been absent.
Again, that is not proof that the pairing itself is the problem, but it does invite a broader tactical question: does playing both forwards together improve Arsenal’s attacking structure, or does it leave them short of the connective play needed to break down compact defences?
Selection, Roles and the Search For Answers
Slegers has hardly been short of activity in trying to solve Arsenal’s problems. She has used 22 players in the WSL this season, more than any other side, and made 14 changes to her starting XI, fewer only than Manchester City (18) and Chelsea (15). Arsenal have also used all five substitutions in five of their six league matches, the joint-most alongside Tottenham.
She is evidently a manager searching for solutions.
Squad availability will now undoubtedly play its part as injuries now restrict Slegers’ options, and Caldentey’s absence is particularly significant. Yet the Spaniard had struggled to reach her usual standards even before injury struck, averaging just 1.8 chances created per 90 in the WSL, a career low.
But the timing of changes has also attracted attention. Against Birmingham, Arsenal were desperate for a winner, yet Slegers did not make her first substitution until the 76th minute. Since the start of 2025-26, 77.8% of substitute appearances under Slegers have lasted fewer than 30 minutes.
There is a balance to strike between trusting the starting XI and intervening before a match slips away. Against Birmingham, the late changes raised the question of whether Arsenal had waited too long to alter an attacking structure that was struggling to produce chances.
The uncertainty extends to the full-back positions, particularly on the left.
Arsenal have inevitably lost the fearlessness and tenacity
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