Arsenal’s Women’s Super League season is only five matches old, but the Gunners already sit 10 points behind leaders Manchester City and 10th in the table. Sunday’s 4-2 defeat at City has intensified the scrutiny on manager Renee Slegers, whose side have won just two of their opening seven matches in all competitions.
It makes for dismal reading for a club that has not won a WSL title since 2019, and the pattern is a familiar one, with slow starts ultimately proving costly in each of the seasons since.
Slegers’ wider record offers some context for the position she finds herself in. She led Arsenal to the Women’s Champions League title in 2025, and while the club failed to win any trophies last season, they finished second in the WSL and reached the semi-finals as they defended their European crown.
Asked whether she was worried about her position, Slegers said: “All I know so far is that the last couple of days we have been together as a club, and a team. We have been aligned in the direction. Of course, this result is disappointing but I’m here and I’m full of energy. I care a lot for the club and the players. I see perspective.” She added that the timing of the international break was welcome, giving the players a chance to change environment and play their football elsewhere before returning with new energy.
At full-time at the Etihad Stadium, Slegers gathered her dejected players in a team huddle before walking over to the 2,500 away supporters, standing in front of them applauding as they sang “North London Forever”. She was greeted warmly, and the moment did not look like the reaction of a fanbase keen to push her out of the door — although noise among supporters outside the stadium has been building, and Slegers knows her position is being questioned.
“I mostly went there to thank them, connect with them and show them I care for them and I appreciate them coming out to Manchester,” she said of that walk across the pitch. “I just wanted to connect with them instead of walking away and hiding. I don’t know how they are going to react to me! I just wanted to thank them for being there for us.”
Sources at the club insist she retains their full backing. While there is disappointment and an acknowledgement that results have not been good enough, the club believes Slegers can guide them in the right direction.
There was investment in the transfer window, with England international Georgia Stanway, Spain full-back Ona Batlle and highly rated young Germany forward Lisa Baum arriving. Those signings were made early in an attempt to secure a full pre-season and avoid another slow start, with most players returning to Arsenal from their holidays in mid-July. It has clearly not paid off.
Rather than worry about her job, Slegers is already planning an inquest into where the problems lie during the international break. Asked whether there was a wider club issue behind the persistent slow starts, she said there would be “a big review of our season so far”.
The on-pitch issues have been obvious. Arsenal had scored just twice in the WSL before Sunday, and Alessia Russo’s 49th-minute goal at City was her first in the league this season. That lack of ruthlessness has left the Gunners without a win in their past four WSL games — their worst winless streak since October 2023. The defeat by City also confirmed this as their second-worst start after five games in the WSL, with only 2014 producing fewer points, four. Confidence has clearly taken a hit, and a bizarre error from defender Leah Williamson on Wednesday summed up the chaotic nature of the season so far: emotions ran so high after a 2-2 draw with Paris FC in the Women’s Champions League that Slegers did not appear for post-match media duties, later explaining that she was angry and felt the team needed her in that moment.
Despite all of it, Slegers was defiant on Sunday, stating that she believes she remains the right person to lead the club. “First of all, it’s not about me anyway. I have energy, I feel the connection and I think we’re going through a really difficult time but we also see perspective,” she said. “We look forward and see solutions. We see the closeness of the squad. It’s not that we’re totally away from it or off it, it’s been consistently about margins. We have to work to get them on our side but when we do, I think we’ll be really good. Of course, it’s been a long run without the results we wanted. It’s not about me, it’s about the club and I care about the club.”