Have Arsenal blown their WSL title bid already?

The query that appears in the piece’s headline seems absurd at first glance.

Arsenal are unbeaten in its fourth game of the Women’s Super League (WSL) season. They are reigning European champions, one point behind leaders Chelsea, and they have named four players in the top seven of the 2025 Ballon d’Or this week.

Arsenal fans’ comments in the BBC Sport inbox, such as “So poor from Arsenal” and “There you go Chelsea, all yours again,” could be read as fan hysteria.

Yes, two points were lost in the Emirates Stadium’s late equalizer against Aston Villa. But seriously, blowing the title race?

However, scratch beneath the surface and the clickbait’s apparent substance is revealed.

The main issue is Chelsea. Sonia Bompastor’s team finished with just six points overall in their WSL campaign last year, which was their first of its kind in a 22-game run.

After four games, Arsenal has already lost four points, including a poor 0-0 draw at home to Villa on Saturday and a drab 0-0 draw at Manchester United last weekend.

Any points lost in such a small league could be very detrimental.

Arsenal manager Renee Slegers told Sky Sports, “What we need to do better is find those ways of winning, even though we’re not at our highest level today,” which is going to happen throughout the season. The second goal “would have been very significant for us,” he said.

How preventable this was is what most worries Arsenal. Aside from the defeat from last year, tiredness, a focus on the Champions League, and an inspiring Villa display all contributed.

However, it appeared to be self-inflicted on Saturday. After ten minutes, Arsenal took the lead, but the pace dropped as the game got longer. And they conceded the victory to set-pieces just as it appeared to have won by a narrow margin.

Lynn Wilms made a good save from Daphne van Domselaar after receiving a soft free kick outside the box. And Lucy Parker bundled home from the corner that Arsenal did not defend.

Any side that is regarded as serious title contenders shouldn’t be dropping points in this manner. It’s difficult to imagine Chelsea doing that.

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright stated to Sky Sports, “Chelsea dominate this WSL because of those games they are able to finish.”

Chelsea win that game, Chelsea don’t lose that game, and Chelsea don’t draw that game.

The players and the manager both have to bear the blame for Arsenal’s poor second half.

Arsenal had 19 shots in the first half, which made it impossible for them to miss.

But they were almost 35 minutes into the second half without scoring until Katie McCabe’s well-timed save from Sabrina D’Angelo. Following their draw against Manchester United, which saw only one shot on target.

It is a worrying drop-off after their first two league games, where they scored nine goals.

Slegers criticized the team’s performance, saying, “The quality we have in the team didn’t bring in the final third today.”

They need too many touches on the ball, according to Wright, who described it as “very negative, backwards passing.” There isn’t enough energy, it says.

Because of how poorly a team is going to try to win the league, I believe these games show them just how they are.

Concerning Slegers, questions will be raised about how she uses the squad and substitutes.

At her Thursday press conference, she was faced with questions about American defender Jenna Nighswonger, who had not played since signing in January.

And on Saturday, she left Kyra Cooney-Cross and Stina Blackstenius on the bench, while Chloe Kelly, who finished fifth in the Ballon d’Or, only started in the 87th minute.

Taylor Hinds has started for McCabe in each of his four league starts this year.

Blackstenius, Maanum, Kelly, Beth Mead, and Victoria Pelova have largely been interchangeable, starting one person as a sub or switching them out. It gives Slegers’ side a sense of predictability.

She has to have faith in that team, Wright remarked.

She consistently uses the same substitutes. The game doesn’t change at all. Because she is using the same players, there is no change in how someone is going to start playing and suddenly make it quicker and sharper for us.

You have players who are probably upset right now because they have drawn a game that you ought to be winning and aren’t even close to a team.

Arsenal will be four points adrift of Chelsea if Chelsea defeats them on Sunday.