The start of the 2025/26 season was full of hope and promise for Arsenal Women, and a 4-1 win over London City Lionesses on the first day of the Women’s Super League looked to set the tone.

However, after nine matches, Arsenal have won only four, recording an equal number of draws and a loss as well. They sit fourth in the WSL table, eight points behind leaders Manchester City and five behind champions Chelsea. 

In the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the competition which the club won just six months ago, Arsenal find themselves tenth, having won two and lost two so far. 

Many fans would have thought this season would have started much more positively for the Gunners, and the discussion around strategies at the club has been long-standing. Fans have questioned team selection, player recruitment, and culture for a while, but these issues seem to be coming to a head after the team’s unfortunate run of form.

On Wednesday morning, The Athletic published an in-depth investigation by Megan Feringa, which sheds new light on what’s truly going on behind the scenes at Arsenal, and it paints a far more complex picture than simple poor form.

Feringa’s reporting, drawing on multiple anonymous sources close to the club, suggests that Arsenal’s recent struggles are not isolated to injuries or tactical decisions but stem from deeper structural and cultural issues within the women’s setup.

According to The Athletic, long-standing tensions in the squad, uncertainty around leadership responsibilities, and questions over team management have all contributed to the team’s disjointed start to the season.

One of the most striking parts of Feringa’s piece is the revelation that Arsenal’s dressing room has been fractured for years.

According to The Athletic, a small group of influential players has shaped the internal hierarchy, creating an environment that multiple sources describe as highly competitive but, at times, “disrespectful”. The article reports that these cultural tensions, which predate Jonas Eidevall, have continued into Renee Slegers’ tenure, despite the morale boost of last season’s Champions League win. 

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This is a key point because it challenges the perception that Arsenal’s recent struggles are new or purely tactical. Instead, Feringa suggests that the cracks have been present for years.

The article also cites that players’ new-found fame, which stems from the game’s rapid growth, has contributed to the influence these players feel they have in the dressing room.

Time spent at the club also seems to be a reason for hierarchy within the squad, with The Athletic discussing that the seating plan in Arsenal’s dressing room, for both home and away matches, is ordered according to when the players joined the club.

Whilst this means that young academy stars could sit next to new and experienced signings, it puts weight on those who have been with the Gunners for years, a decision which has seen criticism on social media. 

Another pivotal point in Feringa’s investigation is the sense of a leadership vacuum. Following several structural changes, Edu’s departure, Andrea Berta’s role excluding the women’s side, and Tim Lewis’ removal. The Athletic reports that responsibility for the women’s program has become blurred.

Sources told Feringa that the team felt like a ‘boat driven by itself’, with confusion over who holds accountability for cultural, recruitment, and squad-building decisions.

According to the article, the Director of Women’s Football, Clare Wheatley, has received mixed reviews when completing transfers. Some say she can be an efficient operator, but others have called her difficult to contact and distanced from the day-to-day culture of the first-team squad and academy. For many, this contributes to the overall feeling of strategic confusion.

This matters because it highlights why systemic issues have been allowed to linger: unclear leadership has left the women’s team without coherent long-term direction. Feringa also highlights significant concerns about squad planning and youth development.

Despite expectations of a rebuild after the Champions League triumph, The Athletic notes that with Lia Walti being the summer’s major departure, Arsenal still field the oldest average starting XI in the WSL.

The article details examples of young or incoming players struggling for playing time, from Kathrine Kuhl’s departure to Roma, to the battle for minutes that Jenna Nighswonger, Victoria Pelova and Kyra Cooney-Cross have experienced this season, the pathway to the top is often unclear.

Families and agents cited their confusion around development plans, suggesting structural problems that expose a disconnect between Arsenal’s ambition and the mechanisms needed to sustain it, particularly at a time when rivals are refreshing their squads aggressively.

Disappointed fans want to see their club head in an upward direction, full of ambition with a clear strategy, and with The Athletic’s revelations, the conversation around Arsenal’s path to success will only get louder.