'No excuses' for Champions League winners Arsenal in WSL title race

Steph Catley says there are "no excuses" for Arsenal to fail to challenge Chelsea for the Women's Super League title after their Champions League success. 

Chelsea stormed to a sixth successive WSL title in 2024-25, and their eighth overall, finishing 12 points clear of the Gunners in second.

In what was Sonia Bompastor's first season at the helm, she also led the Blues to a domestic treble, triumphing in the League Cup and the FA Cup.

One trophy that did slip through Chelsea's grasp last season was the Champions League, after they were thumped 8-2 by Barcelona in the last four.

Barcelona appeared destined to clinch a third-straight crown, but they were stunned 1-0 by Arsenal in the final, with Stina Blackstenius' 74th-minute strike the difference. 

It marked a fine turnaround under Renee Slegers, who replaced Jonas Eidevall in October, with the Gunners remaining the only English side to win Europe's elite competition.

But having failed to win the WSL since 2018-19 under Joe Montemurro, defender Catley believes they need to build on their European success on the domestic front.

"As soon as you win something as big as [the Champions League], there is a target on your back," Catley told BBC Radio 5 Live's Women's Football Weekly podcast.

"There is an expectation that you should go on and do amazing things. Domestically, we haven't won nearly as much as we probably could have and we probably should have.

"There's really no excuses. We have the team. We have everything in place. It's about putting it together on the field and matching up to those expectations."

Despite their success in Europe, Arsenal are only handed a 10.1% chance of winning the WSL in the Opta supercomputer's data-led season simulations. 

Chelsea are the clear favourites for the title, with a 72.4% chance of finishing first. Manchester City (13.6%) and Manchester United (3.9%) are also given an outside chance. 

But Catley has identified consistency as being key for Arsenal this season, after a stuttering start in 2024-25 saw them struggle to cut into Chelsea's lead.

The Gunners took just nine points from their first six WSL games, with a crushing 5-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League seeing Eidevall's tenure come to an abrupt end. 

"Our goal is to be consistent from round one and then maintain that. Domestically, you can't afford [to dip in form]," added Catley.

"Chelsea have made a habit of being able to win when they are maybe not playing their best football and I think that's something we could learn from them.

"Our football looks wonderful most of the time, but is it getting us wins consistently? It probably hasn't in the past."

But much of Arsenal's squad now have a winning mentality following a summer of success, also on the international stage.

Leah Williamson, Alessia Russo, Beth Mead and Chloe Kelly all featured in England's Euro 2025 final win over Spain, with the latter scoring the winning penalty in the shoot-out.

And Russo, who was the joint-top goalscorer in the WSL last year with 12 goals, believes Arsenal's success in Europe has made them hungry to deliver in England. 

"Winning the Champions League was something I dreamed of as a kid. When you win a trophy, you get a craving for more," said Russo.

"We're all really motivated to go on and start the season strongly. For sure [the stakes are higher] and I hope the fans expect that, because we expect that.

"We have such a talented squad. We know we've not competed as we want to in the league and the cups and we want to put that right this season."

Arsenal start their campaign this Saturday against newly-promoted side London City Lionesses.