Arsenal Women at Man City: key defender back for WSL crunch

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Arsenal Women travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to face defending champions Manchester City already seven points adrift of their hosts in the WSL, and Renee Slegers will have Steph Catley available again after a lower back problem.

Catley missed Wednesday night's Champions League trip to Paris, where Arsenal surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2. The fallout from that result was significant enough that Slegers handed her post-match media duties to assistant manager Aaron D'Antino, a decision she addressed directly in Friday's press conference.

"I want to be good for the group. I want to be a good leader. I want to be strategically good for them. I want to get the best out of the group. So that's where I perceive most of the pressure," Slegers said. "But I also understand I'm the manager of Arsenal now and we have a season ambition, and, so far, we haven't been able to execute what we wanted. So I understand that's part of the role, and I have to take it."

The numbers behind a difficult start

Arsenal have not won in the WSL since the opening day victory at Brighton. Their only other win in all competitions since then came via a stoppage-time penalty at home to Koge in Europe, and they are yet to score more than one goal in a single league fixture this season.

Manchester City, by contrast, have won every WSL game so far — though, as Arseblog News notes, all of those victories have come against sides who either finished in the bottom half last season or were promoted from WSL2. In Europe, Andree Jeglertz's side have drawn away at Bayern Munich and at home to Real Madrid, with both opponents exposing a defence that plays a notably high line.

Team news and the Blackstenius factor

Alongside Catley, Elisa de Almeida could return to the squad following a muscle injury. Chloe Kelly remains out with a hamstring issue, while Daphne van Domselaar (knee), Michelle Agyemang and Katie Reid (both ACL) are all long-term absentees.

Stina Blackstenius is the name to watch. The Swede has a remarkable record against City, scoring the winner in the Conti Cup semi-final in February 2023, the winner in the WSL home game in November 2023, a late brace in a 2-1 win at the Joie Stadium in May 2024, and again in a 4-3 away win in February 2025.

Arsenal have faced a succession of low blocks in the early part of this campaign, a setup that suits Blackstenius' running in behind far less than what City typically offer.

The two sides met twice last season, with City winning 3-2 in Manchester before Olivia Smith's first-half goal secured a 1-0 win for Arsenal at the Emirates in February.

Kick-off at the Etihad is at 4.30pm on Sunday, live on Sky Sports in the UK.