For a quarter of an hour, it seemed like Arsenal were out of their slump.
Alessia Russo had given them the lead against OL Lyonnes as they began their Champions League title defence, but they were their own worst enemies by gifting the visitors two goals that took all three points back to France.
The 2-1 loss was Arsenals fourth game in all competitions without a win, and their second defeat in as many matches after the weekends 3-2 loss to Manchester City. After winning last seasons Champions League and recruiting well in the summer, there was hope they could push on this season.
Now, Renee Slegers side have ground to make up both domestically and in Europe, squinting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Their spark was reignited with Russos early finish, which came from a well-worked Beth Mead assist, but was dampened by individual errors typical of a team looking for rhythm and confidence. Both Melchie Dumornays goals came from untimely Daphne van Domselaar passes the first being directly intercepted and the second being stolen off Mariona Caldentey as she received the ball.
Errors happen from time to time, but if they happen too often, of course, theres something there, Slegers said in her post-match press conference.
It looks silly from the outside, but its not like they cant pass that ball anymore. There are different things behind it. Sometimes its intangible or hard to put your finger on because its a mixture of things.
Focusing on those costly mistakes is only natural given the result, but other concerning aspects of recent performances cropped up again. The failure to build on the momentum after going ahead was compounded by OLs growth in confidence after levelling. They quickly gained control, and Arsenals play became more about surviving rather than pressing the issue.
Runs in behind were lacking, second balls were being lost, and the distances between defence, midfield and attack were being stretched. Caldentey went close to equalising twice with shots from the edge of the box, but attacks have not been flowing as freely as they were last season under Slegers.
Leah Williamsons absence with a knee injury sustained in the Euro 2025 final has been a huge hindrance both in defence and attack. Katie Reid, 19, has not played badly in her place, but without Williamson, Arsenal are lacking an on-pitch leader, an experienced defender, and an excellent ball-player. There could also be more use of squad players who may provide something different to those who have started regularly as Arsenals form has dropped.
Some of these issues were prevalent when Jonas Eidevall left Arsenal this time last year. His record when he left in October 2024 (excluding Champions League qualifiers) was five games played, one win, two draws and two losses. This term, Arsenal have played six, won two, drawn two and lost two but the context is different.
Eidevall was at the start of his fourth season in charge of Arsenal and restlessness had already grown at not winning the Womens Super League in his first three seasons. By the time Arsenal lost 2-1 to Chelsea on October 12, 2024, fans had begun to boo him as well as spray-painting Jonas Out near the Emirates Stadium.
Slegers won the Champions League in her first half-season in charge of Arsenal, so there were no boos as her team applauded the 3,023 fans who travelled to Meadow Park where league phase games of the Champions League are being played as part of an extended partnership with Boreham Wood.
Ive been through this as a manager, as a player, so you build up experience, Slegers said of this spell of bad form. But the team went through hard times last year as well, and then we ended the season on a high with an amazing achievement in the Champions League.
What we always said is what will take us forward in the process is always staying grounded and never too high, never too low people staying in the present and always being very reflective. Thats what weve built in the club with the staff and players. So that brings me confidence that we wont get too high, too low in this situation, so we keep on going and we keep on believing, but we are critical and we have a safe environment where we are all transparent.
One example of that collective level-headedness came during Arsenals run to Champions League glory last season.
At 2-0 down to Real Madrid going into the quarter-final second leg, they came flying out of the blocks but were unable to score before half-time. It would have been easy to panic and change course, but a sense of calm inside the changing room at half-time provided enough clarity to make a small tweak to their approach that made a difference within minutes of the second half.
The situation now is different, as they have already dropped points that could prove costly. Rediscovering that calm and ruthlessness that made them such a threat under Slegers last season becomes more important with each game.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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