A look into Arsenal’s WSL struggles to start season

Arsenal’s underperformance has been one of the hottest topics at the start of the Women’s Super League campaign. Data provided by Opta Analyst’s October 2 breakdown covering Arsenal’s opening five WSL matches from the 2026/27 season highlight overall problems affecting one of the top teams in the league.

If we take a look at their expected goals, we find that they have scored four goals against an xG of 8.2. An expected 0.8 goals per game is one of the worst in the league.

Their problem is not the lack of chances, but poor finishing in the final third. Out of nine big chances created in their first game, Arsenal only finished one. One of their top strikers, Alessia Russo, missed six big chances across the four opening matches, the most of any player.

The team’s shooting position is another thing worth taking a look at. Their non-penalty xG per shot was just 0.085, suggesting their shot selection has also been poor. That, added to the fact that 35% of their shots were blocked, was the highest percentage in the WSL at the time Opta’s report was released.

It’s not as if Arsenal can’t win possession high up the field, but the fact that they don’t know how to translate that into dangerous moments is one of the things that is affecting them the most. They have the third-highest total of turnovers in the league (54, yet only seven led to shots and none led to goals.

The Gunners also boast the highest numbers of passes in the opposition half and final third, though they might be prioritizing possession and territorial control over speed, unpredictability and penetration. That gives opponents enough time to go back into defensive shape and make Arsenal shoot through crowded areas.

The team also doesn’t know how to turn their high number of touches in the opposition box into scoring. As an example, 70 of their 205 total touches happened in that area against Crystal Palace. However, that game ended in a 0-0 draw.

Arsenal has one of the most stacked squads in the WSL. As of now, their positions or playing time, especially for those on the frontline, might be worth revisiting.

Let’s take Russo’s role as an example. The English striker has played 67% of her minutes in the opening four matches, down from 73% the previous season. Her shots per game have also fallen to 3.1—her lowest rate across her previous six top-flight seasons.

Lisa Baum is a different story. She led the team for shots on target, progressive carries and carries ending in a chance created or take-on. However, despite her good performances, she has been substituted regularly.

So, who is the most effective pair in Arsenal? It’s hard to know when players such as Chloe Kelly, Frida Maanum, and Smilla Holmberg have seen limited minutes.

However, this isn’t a matter of giving players minutes or rotating for the sake of experimentation.

Coach Renée Slegers made nine changes to her starting XI and used 21 players in the first four matches of the season. That’s more than any other team by the time the report was released. Who has played all the games so far? Emily Fox and Leah Williamson.

Where does the problem lie? Not with rotation but with the fact that the team is still in search of its best attacking combination. Repeated changes can make that search harder when trying to build the attack around Russo.

A closer look at the match against Manchester City shows Arsenal is vulnerable when matches change direction.

Despite City’s xG of 1.01, they scored three times in the second half after Arsenal had taken a 2-1 lead.

In that game, they failed at transition defense. Moreover, they showed they can be exposed after losing the ball following prolonged spells of possession.

Additionally, Arsenal lost focus when City brought some substitutes in the second half, among them Kerstin Casparij, who scored only 70 seconds after coming on.