Arsenal enter the 2026-27 Women's Super League season determined to convert last year's near-misses into silverware, following an extensive summer rebuild that saw 11 players leave the club and seven arrive.
The Gunners finished second in the WSL last season, a campaign that also delivered the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup but fell short of the ambitions set after their 2025 Champions League triumph. That underwhelming feeling by the club's own high standards prompted a significant reshaping of the squad under manager Renée Slegers.
Among the departures were two long-serving figures, Beth Mead and Katie McCabe, who have moved on to Manchester City and Chelsea respectively. In their place, Arsenal have brought in a host of established internationals: Spain full-back Ona Batlle, England midfielder Georgia Stanway, Switzerland's Géraldine Reuteler and German forward Selina Cerci. The additions are designed both to inject fresh quality and to bring down the average age of the squad.
Stanway's arrival is viewed as one of the standout pieces of business. The two-time European champion already has strong relationships with several England teammates in the Arsenal squad and is expected to add a physical, combative presence to the midfield. Describing her own qualities to the Guardian, Stanway said she is "ruthless and robust" — traits Arsenal have often lacked in recent seasons.
Slegers, who took permanent charge after stepping in following Jonas Eidevall's departure, now has her first full preseason in the role. With Arsenal already assured of Champions League league-phase football through their league finish and no major summer international tournament to disrupt preparations, there will be little room for slow starts of the kind that hampered previous campaigns, including a run of four draws and a defeat in their opening nine matches last season.
Statistically, Arsenal were the WSL's standout side by expected points last term and lost just once all season. Their downfall in the title race came via six drawn matches — compared to Manchester City's solitary draw — with data suggesting they should have won at least three of those. A split of results in their head-to-head meetings with City ultimately proved the difference in the standings.
Technical director Jodie Taylor made clear the scale of the club's ambitions heading into the new campaign. "We're in a great place of course, but we would have liked to have won more trophies last season and that is our huge ambition coming into this year," she said. "I'll flat out say it: we want to win the league and want to take that next step."
Off the pitch, Arsenal continue to grow commercially. The club's most recent accounts, covering the year to May 2025, showed revenue climbing by £6.5m to £21.5m, with matchday income nearing £6m from an average Emirates Stadium crowd of just under 30,000 across eight fixtures. Broadcast revenue more than doubled to over £2m, aided by Champions League success, while commercial income nearly tripled. Despite this progress, Arsenal remain heavily dependent on funding from the men's club, which still accounts for more than half of total revenue.
A further boost could come from the return of Michelle Agyemang, 20, and Katie Reid, 19, both sidelined for close to a year with anterior cruciate ligament injuries after breakthrough form in 2025. Their comebacks will be managed carefully as they look to rediscover peak form.
All WSL home fixtures will again be staged at the Emirates Stadium, with domestic cup and Champions League league-phase matches continuing to be played at Meadow Park, which the club have effectively outgrown.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.