by Ben Gilby (13/8/26)
Above: Chloe Kelly celebrates during Arsenal’s Champions League Quarter-Final win over Chelsea last season. Photo: Arsenal FC.
A new campaign is on the horizon – one that Lionesses hero Chloe Kelly believes will be the most competitive ever in the WSL. One that makes this season the best time to end Arsenal’s seven year league title winning drought.
Speaking to the media at the club’s season launch event, Kelly said: “What a time to win the league if the league is growing as much as it is and with the players we are attracting.”
It’s not just Arsenal who are attracting these big names, but the calibre of players coming into London City Lionesses, the changes at Manchester City, and teams such as Tottenham Hotspur will also point to adding greater quality.
No-one seriously expects it to be the same four teams battling it out for three European places in 2026/27. Instead, it should be, at the very least a five way tussle. That is hugely exciting for the 28-year-old.
“The growth of this league right now is incredible. You have players from Barcelona off the back of winning a Champions League coming to our league.”
Arsenal know that slow starts over the past two seasons have ultimately cost them the opportunity to add WSL honours to the Champions League and FIFA Champions Cup silverware that they lifted. With head coach Renée Slegers now having put together arguably the strongest squad in the club’s history, with world-class players across all parts of the squad and in deep numbers, the attacker believes now is the time for them to lift the title.
“What we have in the room is good enough to win the league and we have to focus on what we can bring to the table…We have to take care of our own business.”
It has been a bitter-sweet last couple of years for Kelly, with the dark days at Manchester City, a return to her beloved Arsenal, a second successive Euros Final winning strike, followed by a season of stop-start injury.
The period has been series of real challenges for the Gunner, but she has now grabbed the opportunity with both hands as she looks to start the new campaign on a real high.
“(I’m) really proud to be sat here, wearing an Arsenal shirt. It feels like a long time ago (leaving City). There was a bit of a fear of the unknown – not knowing how things would go…I reflect on that as a dark moment – then the Euros (2025) and signing for the club that I started my career with.
“I know the ambitions of the club – to go for the league this season – so making sure I had a really good off season (was really important to me) – balancing down time with working in the gym and working on the pitch, so I think I’m in a really good place at the moment. My main goal is to stay fit and fresh all season, look after my body and be ready when called upon.
“I needed the summer to work on myself physically, and without a summer tournament was a good time for that. Last season was a frustration for me, in and out with injury off the back of an amazing summer. I had big goals to do big things in my first (full) season at Arsenal, so I was a little disappointed that I didn’t do what I wanted to do.
With Kelly reaching her late-20s and being such a role model in the game, she is aware of the responsibilities that come with it, but at the same time can’t lose the sense of fun and enjoyment that make her who she is as a person and a player.
“I always try to lead by example in the way I hold myself both on and off the pitch. There are younger ones in the squad, but sometimes I don’t realise I’m 28 and I get involved with the younger ones, doing our dances and what-not.
“I remember stepping out on that pitch at Boreham Wood against Watford (11 years ago in the Conti Cup, scoring), buzzing to be at Arsenal, and I still feel that way. Time flies by, but the feeling of playing for Arsenal doesn’t change.”
Among the next generation of youngsters at the North London side that the Lioness is taking under her wing, are three players that she highlights particularly.
“Jessie Gale, what she did in the WSL2 last season (with Bristol City) was incredible. Seeing her journey now and trying to guide her as much as we can as a group. (Gale has just gone out on loan again in the second tier to Newcastle United). For her, being herself is important because she is such a bubbly character. Katie Reid and Michelle Agyemang – it will be amazing for them to step back on the pitch and get going again.”
But, at the end of the day, it’s all about positivity and enjoyment. Right now, I cannot think of another player in the WSL who looks like she enjoys playing football just as much as Chloe Kelly. The beaming smile on the pitch, the connectivity with her club, team-mates, and fans. It makes her who she is, and she recognises that.
“The environment that we are creating is a real fun environment in the stadiums…we need to look at the next generation and inspire them every time I step onto the pitch – trying to show those girls its possible to enjoy yourself.”
(c) Impetus 2026
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