Arsenal Women’s Pre-Season Build-Up for 2026/27

Arsenal Women’s new season is still a couple of weeks away, but the tempo has clearly changed. The holidays are over. The legs are heavy. The games are getting sharper. And Renée Slegers has already ticked off a late win, a notable departure and another key week of pre-season work.

This is how the Gunners’ build-up to 2026/27 is taking shape.

Smith’s stoppage-time sting against Paris FC

Friendly or not, a late winner always lands well.

Arsenal edged Paris FC 1-0 at Mangata Developments Stadium in Borehamwood on Sunday, needing until the 91st minute for someone to break the deadlock. That someone was Olivia Smith.

The Canadian forward, who arrived last summer, finally tilted a tight contest. Cutting inside deep into stoppage time, she picked out the far corner and turned a goalless run-out into a sharp little statement. One chance, one clean finish, one more reminder of what she can offer in the final third.

The scoreline will barely register when the season is in full swing, but the exercise mattered. Slegers spread minutes across her squad, nudging players closer to full match fitness and testing combinations as she continues to mould a side expected to challenge for the WSL title.

After the game, the head coach acknowledged there were positives to bank but underlined that details still need ironing out before competitive football returns. Standards are being set early.

Leah Williamson also drew encouragement from the performance and the work being done as Arsenal gear up for another title push. The result was narrow. The intent behind it was not.

Vivienne Lia heads to Eintracht Frankfurt

While one young attacker made her mark on the pitch, another moved on.

On Friday, Arsenal confirmed that 19-year-old winger Vivienne Lia has joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a permanent deal. It ends a five-year spell in north London that began when she entered the academy in 2021 at the age of 14.

Lia climbed through the youth ranks before deciding to continue her development in Germany, a route increasingly well-trodden for young talents seeking regular senior minutes and a different tactical education.

Her exit is part of a busy summer of reshaping. The women’s squad has seen its share of arrivals and departures, and Lia’s move is another reminder that Slegers is not just tweaking — she is actively refining the group she wants.

With the bulk of the transfer work now in place, the emphasis for the head coach shifts more firmly from building a squad to sharpening a team.

Charlton next, then Brighton on the horizon

There is barely time to catch breath before the next test.

Arsenal host Charlton Athletic Women at Mangata Developments Stadium on Wednesday, 26 August, another pre-season checkpoint and another look at Slegers’ evolving plans. It is a chance to rehearse patterns, manage minutes and push intensity a notch higher.

Then comes the real thing.

The Gunners open their Women’s Super League campaign away to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, 6 September. By then, the experimentation window will have narrowed. The questions of pre-season will give way to the demands of points, pressure and momentum.

The late winner against Paris FC, the departure of Vivienne Lia, the steady build in fitness — they are all pieces of the same puzzle.

Soon enough, we find out whether Slegers’ new-look Arsenal can turn this careful preparation into a sustained title charge.