Arsenal’s last victory was a league match against West Ham on September 12th.
Following Arsenal’s Champions League defeat to Lyon, as they completed their customary lap of the pitch, a distinct sense of frustration was evident.
The team is currently winless in their last four outings, five points off the domestic summit, and struggling to maintain clean sheets.
The side that thrillingly won this competition in May seems to have lost its edge, at least for the moment.
A 2-1 loss to Lyon, the eight-time European champions, is not inherently alarming. There remains ample opportunity to recover from this initial setback and advance from the group stage to the knockout rounds.
However, it contributes to the growing perception that Arsenal are experiencing a dip in form that requires immediate attention to prevent further decline.
This marks the first significant period of pressure for head coach Renee Slegers, stemming from disappointing results. She will need to orchestrate a swift turnaround if Arsenal are to salvage their season.
Less than a month prior, the atmosphere surrounding Arsenal was markedly different, buoyed by a 4-1 victory over London City in their league opener and a subsequent 5-1 thrashing of West Ham.
Since then, they have not secured a win.
“They started the first couple of games scoring lots of goals and then just errors have been their issue,” former Leeds striker Lucy Ward said on Disney+.
“They haven’t had the consistency, they haven’t managed games right. Even in the WSL, where it’s not the level of the likes of Lyon, they are punished.”
Striker Alessia Russo, who scored before Arsenal relinquished their lead at Meadow Park, acknowledged the team’s struggles but also emphasized moments of promise.
“I think at the moment we’re in a bit of a blip, but we’re aware of that,” she told Disney+. “I think at times tonight we saw what we’re capable of, but it’s just about doing that and making sure we get results as well.”
Russo added: “We have to be realistic. We know it’s a long season ahead, full of highs and lows. You can never get too high or too low.
“We’ve got to keep pushing ourselves because we don’t like losing, we don’t like being in moments like this.”
The reaction to Arsenal’s defeat by Lyon reflected a narrative that is becoming increasingly familiar.
“Masters of their own downfall,” said 74-cap England forward Nikita Parris.
“You cannot have errors at this level and not expect to be punished,” said Ward.
Melchie Dumornay scored twice in five minutes midway through the first half to secure Lyon’s victory.
Both goals were clearly avoidable, with the first occurring after Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar haplessly pushed the ball into her path, and the second resulting from a misplaced pass on the edge of the home penalty area.
Misplaced passes were also a recurring issue in the 3-2 defeat by Manchester City at the weekend.
However, these are not the only deficiencies in Arsenal’s current form.
They failed to capitalize on opportunities to extend their early lead and then conceded in second-half stoppage time as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa in the league last month.
They did not generate sufficient clear-cut chances in their 0-0 stalemate with Manchester United.
The absence of England captain Leah Williamson, sidelined with a knee injury sustained in the Lionesses’ Euro 2025 qualifier, is also hindering their defensive efforts.
“There is a pattern,” former England forward Sue Smith said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “I still think it’s small margins. I think that game could’ve gone either way.
“If the mistake from the goalkeeper doesn’t happen, then do Arsenal continue to progress? They were 1-0 up and I thought they looked pretty comfortable.
“It’s making sure defensively you’re sound and don’t make mistakes, and then in the final third, can you have a little more quality when the ball comes in?”
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The fact that isolated errors appear to be the primary cause of their struggles offers Arsenal some hope that a clear path exists to revive their campaign.
Captain Kim Little stated after the match that the team “cannot always be perfect all of the time.”
“We’re in a lower space just now with the current form, but we’ll come back stronger. We go into our league fixture at the weekend for a big three points,” Little told Disney+.
Understandably, Slegers acknowledged her side are “not happy” with their form, but their experience from winning this competition last year provides reason for optimism.
While they lacked a cutting edge in attack and registered only half as many shots as Lyon, it’s worth noting they also lost 2-1 to the French side in the first leg of the semi-final last year before rebounding to win the second game 4-1 in France.
Although there is no second leg this time, as this is a group phase match, Arsenal will aim to bounce back at the earliest opportunity.
“The important thing is that we manage it really well and we give direction moving forward and stand strong,” said Slegers. “The positive thing is that we have strong foundation in a cultural perspective and a football perspective.
“We need to keep on believing in that philosophy and it gave us a lot last year. When it starts clicking, we know how good we are.”
Should they fail to defeat Brighton in the league on Sunday (14:30 BST), they will have gone a month without a victory.
“I think there’s lots to it,” Russo said of Arsenal’s slump. “I think, first and foremost, we need to look at ourselves and how we can push our standards. We’re sometimes letting teams get attacks on us by our own mistakes.
“We need to take accountability, we need to focus on what we can do to control that from everyone. It’s all across the pitch. There’s moments in that that were really positive so we’ll lean on that and get ready for Sunday.”
Arsenal showed their best form at the start of the game, securing an early goal and demonstrating their attacking prowess, but they struggled to maintain that level.
“In the first 20-25 minutes, they started the game [well], the goal that they scored… but it is fine margins,” added Smith. “And if you make a couple of errors against a top-quality side like Lyon, then they will punish you.
“In the final third, they just needed to be a bit better, more clinical. But certainly positives to take.”
Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie are back for another season of the Women’s Football Weekly podcast. New episodes drop every Tuesday on BBC Sounds, plus find interviews and extra content from the Women’s Super League and beyond on the Women’s Football Weekly feed
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