"The club's leadership has been really, really good and positive for me in this moment." That's what Renee Slegers said on Friday. What she didn't say — but didn't need to — is that a third straight WSL defeat at Manchester City on Sunday would make all that positivity feel a lot thinner.
Arsenal sit seventh. They've failed to win their last three league games. If they don't take something from Sunday, it'll be their worst WSL start after five games in club history — second only to their worst ever. For a squad assembled with genuine title ambitions over the summer, that is a damning position.
The Wednesday collapse still stings
The Champions League draw with Paris FC on Wednesday made things sharper. Arsenal were 2-0 up, seemingly in control, and conceded a bizarre late penalty to draw. Slegers was emotional enough post-match that her assistant Aaron D'Antino handled media duties in her place — a call she made deliberately to be with the players instead.
"That was the biggest factor of the night," she said of letting the lead slip. "Slip through our hands again." The word "again" is doing a lot of work there. This isn't one bad night — it's a pattern.
Slegers said the pressure she feels is mostly self-generated, which is the right thing to say and probably also true. She signed a new deal until 2029 in January and has been in regular contact with technical director Jodie Taylor, CEO Richard Garlick and director of football Clare Wheatley. The club isn't panicking. But institutional support doesn't win football matches.
Kelly out, City up next
The squad news doesn't help. Chloe Kelly will miss a second consecutive game with a hamstring issue — no timeline on her return. Steph Catley was back in training on Friday, which is at least something.
Manchester City are the reigning WSL champions and currently lead the table. Arsenal's odds to win this game, let alone the title, will reflect exactly how far they've fallen from where they expected to be by now. Sunday isn't just a fixture. It's a measure of whether this Arsenal side can hold themselves together when the plan isn't working.
"I believe we can come out of this," Slegers said. She'll need more than belief at the Etihad.
