Arsenal strengthened its position in the Champions League qualification race with a 2-0 victory over London City Lionesses on March 16th.
The Gunners moved within striking distance of the WSL's top three allotted spots as Manchester City drew with Aston Villa while Chelsea and Manchester United competed in the Subway Cup final. The result leaves Arsenal fourth in the WSL standings with crucial games in hand.
City holds an 11-point advantage over Arsenal, while Manchester United sits two points ahead and Chelsea leads by a single point. Arsenal has one game in hand over Chelsea and United, plus two over City.
On Sunday, Arsenal manager Renee Slegers selected Anneke Borbe in goal ahead of Daphne van Domselaar despite the Dutch keeper not playing for the Netherlands during the international break.
"Anneke's been doing really well and it was about readiness, who was most ready to perform," Slegers told reporters.
Olivia Smith opened scoring for the Gunners in the 15th minute. 2024/25 Champions League hero Stina Blackstenius subsequently sealed the deal with a second-half strike.
Arsenal avoided injuries during the international window, despite dealing with long-term absences and three Australian players competing at the Asian Cup.
Slegers went on to acknowledge defensive concerns, after London City created dangerous three-on-three and four-on-four situations on the pitch.
"We want to have a look at to defend those moments better when teams go vertical against us," she said.
What's Next for 2024/25 Champions League Winner Arsenal
Arsenal now faces four straight London derbies, with West Ham visiting in league play before twin Champions League quarterfinals against Chelsea and a North London Derby against Tottenham at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal secured a 3-0 victory over Bristol City in Sunday's Women's FA Cup action, but the win came with concern after forward Olivia Smith left the match on a stretcher.
Smith suffered a clash of heads early in the second half, with the incident causing a lengthy stoppage plus 14 minutes of added time. Medical staff fitted the 21-year-old with a neck brace before carrying her off the pitch, as fans gave Smith a standing ovation.
The Canada international has been crucial for the Gunners this season, ranking as the team's second-joint top scorer across all competitions with eight goals. She made history in July 2025, transferring in from Liverpool for £1 million and becoming women's football's first seven-figure player.
Arsenal controlled the match despite the injury scare. Longtime captain Kim Little opened the scoring in the 25th minute, before Victoria Pelova doubled Arsenal's advantage in the 61st minute. Frida Maanum later sealed the win with a 69th-minute strike.
The victory sends Arsenal into the FA Cup quarterfinals as one of the tournament favorites. The club has won the Women's FA Cup 14 times in its history — more than any other WSL team.
Head coach Renée Slegers will await updates on Smith's condition before the team's next match. The injury comes at a critical time as Arsenal competes across multiple competitions, including the Women's Super League and Champions League.
Fans will hope Smith recovers quickly, as her absence would be a significant blow to the Gunners' attacking options.
The club provided no immediate update on the severity of Smith's injury following the match.
The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League set its quarterfinal matchups this week, after this month's two-leg Round of 16 ties yielded a competitive field full of familiar foes.
Reigning UWCL champion Arsenal advanced via a 7-1 aggregate drubbing of Belgium side OH Leuven on Wednesday, with the Gunners joined in the winners column by fellow WSL titan Manchester United, who ousted Atlético de Madrid on a 5-0 aggregate, and Spain's Real Madrid, who outlasted Paris FC 5-2 across their two matches.
After lodging a 2-2 first-leg draw with Juventus last week, Frauen-Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg also booked a spot in the quarterfinals with a 2-0 win over the Italian side on Thursday.
This week's victors will now join the four already-qualified challengers in next month's quarterfinals — with two heated rivalries taking center stage.
Arsenal will face reigning six-time WSL champion Chelsea FC for the first time in the Champions League knockouts, while Real Madrid takes on fellow Liga F powerhouse Barcelona in an El Clásico rematch.
As for Manchester United, the Red Devils will face Germany's Bayern Munich, while Wolfsburg has drawn perennial French champion OL Lyonnes.
How to watch the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals
UWCL action will return with the first matches of the two-leg quarterfinal round on Tuesday, March 24th.
All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.
Defending Champions League winner Arsenal is back on the pitch on Wednesday, when the WSL club opens the 2025/26 UWCL Round of 16 against Belgium side Oud-Heverlee Leuven — the same team the Gunners beat 3-0 during December's league phase.
Arsenal's UWCL path hasn't been the smoothest, after an early collapse saw the title-holders slip out of the European tournament's top ranks, forcing the club to fight for playoff survival.
That said, the Gunners have momentum on their side after winning this month's inaugural FIFA Champions Cup final before topping WSL frontrunner Manchester City 1-0 last Sunday.
Wednesday's first-leg clash, however, will likely see Arsenal facing the Belgium league-leaders without goalkeeper Anneke Borbe or forwards Stina Blackstenius and Beth Mead, after recent injuries sidelined the standout trio.
"We respect who they are," Gunners head coach Renée Slegers said of OH Leuven on Tuesday. "So even though we came away with a 3-0 win here last time, we're very humble for the challenge tomorrow."
How to watch Arsenal in the 2025/26 UWCL Round of 16
Arsenal will visit OH Leuven at 12:45 PM ET on Wednesday before hosting the Belgian side for the pair's second-leg match at 3 PM ET on February 18th, with the winner set to face reigning WSL champion Chelsea FC in the UWCL quarterfinals on March 24th.
All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.
While SC Corinthians fell just short of the inaugural intercontinental title on Sunday, the 2026 FIFA W Champions Cup final did prove a massive success for the Brazil league's champions, scoring the highest viewership for a women's club match in the South American country's history.
Brazilian network CazéTV covered the competition's semifinals and final, with the broadcaster registering more than 1 million concurrent streams during Sunday's championship match — a viewership that rivals Brazil's 2023 World Cup group-stage games.
Perhaps even more impressive, Sunday's 3-2 extra-time loss to WSL side Arsenal also coincided with Corinthians' men's team's Brazil Super Cup battle, stressing the growing popularity of the club's women's squad.
"It doesn't matter if it's basketball or football, women's or men's, I'm a Corinthian supporter," a traveling Brazilian fan told The Athletic, with many news outlets reporting on the team's sizable fan support at the FIFA tournament in London last week.
Sunday's Champions Cup viewership also reflects the Brazil club's overall rising attendance, with the team featuring in every one of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A1 league's five highest-attended matches — and winning the Top 4.
Claiming seven of the last eight league championships — including the last six straight trophies — Corinthians' 2024 title match against São Paulo saw 44,529 fans pack Neo Química Arena, netting the largest crowd at a women's club soccer match in South American history.
The fan clamor for Corinthians bodes well for another upcoming FIFA tournament, with Brazil preparing to host the first-ever World Cup in South America in 2027.
"Football is about love and Brazil loves football," said Brazilian soccer legend Marta in a video for a 2027 World Cup event just last month. "Our country is ready to embrace the women's game with pride, emotion and belief."
WSL club Arsenal earned some new silverware on Sunday, lifting the first-ever FIFA W Champions Cup after claiming a 3-2 extra-time win over Brazilian titans SC Corinthians in Sunday's final.
The South American side overcame two one-goal deficits in regulation, with Corinthians midfielder Gabi Zanotti first offsetting Arsenal forward Olivia Smith's 15th-minute opener in the 21st minute before midfielder Victória Albuquerque played hero with a last-gasp stoppage-time penalty to again equalize following Gunners defender Lotte Wubben-Moy's second-half strike.
Arsenal attacker Caitlin Foord sealed the deal in extra time, sinking a breakaway goal in the 104th minute to secure the reigning Champions League victors the inaugural world title.
"It feels good, just to get on the scoresheet," said Foord following the Gunners' intercontinental club victory. "As a forward, that's your job, but to do it in a moment like this is special.... I don't think it's really sunk in yet, but it's nice to write our names in the history books, that's for sure."
Arsenal did have a a couple notable advantages in the debut edition of the FIFA W Champions Cup, with the final hosted on the club's home pitch at London's Emirates Stadium as well as the fact that the WSL season is currently in full swing.
Meanwhile, both Corinthians and the NWSL's Gotham FC — who claimed a dominant 4-0 Sunday victory over Morroco's ASFAR to take third in the competition — entered the tournament during their winter offseasons.
"It is what it is," said Corinthians head coach Lucas Piccinato postgame. "We hope next time Arsenal will come to Brazil to play against us. I think it would be better if it was in a neutral venue."
Gotham FC's inaugural Champions Cup dreams ended on Wednesday morning, as Brazil's SC Corinthians upset the reigning NWSL champs 1-0 in the FIFA competition's London semifinal.
Corinthians captain Gabi Zanotti scored the match's lone goal in the 83rd minute, after Gotham standouts Gabi Portilho and Rose Lavelle exited with injury.
"We feel like we probably should have done better throughout the game and been more clinical in both boxes," Gotham defender Jess Carter said postgame. "There's not really much more to say other than probably a little bit disappointed by it."
Gotham was at a calendar disadvantage as the only Champions Cup team entering the semifinals during their offseason, causing the players some frustration as FIFA similarly eyes a January start for the 2028 Club World Cup.
"You're asking [NWSL] players to cut their offseason short when everyone's just had competitions and Euros and traveling across the world," Carter continued. "We all want to play, we want to give everybody the highest level of entertainment, and we can only do that if were all fully fit and that goes across the board for every single women's game."
Gotham will now face ASFAR for a shot at a third-place finish on Sunday, after UWCL winners Arsenal demolished the Moroccan champions 6-0 in Wednesday's second semifinal.
How to watch Gotham in the 2026 FIFA W Champions Cup third-place match
Gotham kicks off against ASFAR for third place at 9:45 AM ET on Sunday, hours before Arsenal takes on Corinthians in the 2026 FIFA W Champions Cup final at 1 PM ET.
Both Sunday matches will air live on CBS Sports.
Gotham FC steps back into the spotlight on Wednesday, when the reigning NWSL and Concacaf W Champions Cup winners take on SC Corinthians in the 2026 FIFA W Champions Cup semifinals in London.
"The hunger they have to win is unbelievable. It's in their nature," Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said of his team's continued title quest. "They win one competition and they're already thinking about the next one."
"This is where we want to be: competing in the semifinals, competing in the finals, competing to raise another trophy. That's the standard here at Gotham," defender Mandy Freeman echoed.
Further bolstering the US team is recent rookie signee Jordynn Dudley, who joins the NWSL club fresh off her own title-winning run at Florida State.
Hours after Gotham squares off against Brazil's 2025 Série A1 winners, UWCL champions Arsenal will face Moroccan Women's Championship titans ASFAR in the inaugural four-team competition's other semifinal.
The final and third-place matches will take place on Sunday, with a history-making $3.95 million total prize pool on the line.
The tournament winners will take home $2.3 million, while the runners-up net $1 million and each third-place team leaves with $200,000 — with $100,000 and $150,000 already sent to the clubs eliminated from the competition's play-in round.
How to watch the 2026 FIFA W Champions Cup semifinals
Gotham will kick off Wednesday's 2026 FIFA W Champions Cup semifinals against Corinthians at 7:30 AM ET, before Arsenal plays ASFAR at 1 PM ET.
Both clashes will air live on DAZN.
Arsenal delivered a season-defining performance on Saturday, defeating Chelsea 2-0 to blow the WSL title race wide open.
The London Derby victory marks the Gunners' first away win against Chelsea since 2018, ending the Blues' 10-match unbeaten streak.
After a scoreless first half, Arsenal broke the deadlock in the 54th minute. Alessia Russo drove through the midfield to find Beth Mead, who clinically slotted a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner.
Arsenal doubled their advantage six minutes later. Mead claimed the assist, threading a pass to Spain international Mariona Caldentey inside the penalty area. The 2023 World Cup winner took one touch to set herself, before drilling the ball past Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton to make it 2-0.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor's team struggled to find their usual rhythm. Despite introducing Lauren James and Keira Walsh as second-half subs, Arsenal limited the hosts to long-range efforts and just one shot on target.
Anchored by Leah Williamson and Lotte Wubben-Moy, the Arsenal defense remained disciplined, securing the clean sheet.
“We figured out where we could hurt them and we did that in the second half especially,” Mead told BBC Sport. “We put our chances away.”
The result has serious implications for the WSL standings.
Afterwards, Bompastor admitted Chelsea's "title race is probably gone," as the defending champions now sit six points behind league-leaders Manchester City. Meanwhile, Arsenal moved within a single point of Chelsea, bolstering their chances for a ticket to the 2026/27 Champions League.
How to watch Arsenal this week
Arsenal now prepares for Wednesday's Women's Champions Cup semifinal, going up against Moroccan powerhouse ASFAR in London at 1 PM ET, live on DAZN.
The WSL is cashing in on the women's game, with two UK clubs surpassing €25 million in annual revenue for the first time, according to the Deloitte Football Money League report on the 2024/25 season that dropped this week.
Reigning UWCL champions Arsenal topped the list for the first time after taking in €25.6 million last season, followed closely by WSL title-holders Chelsea FC's €25.4 million.
Meanwhile, Perennial European contender FC Barcelona (€22 million) dropped to third after leading the group in 2023/24, outpacing WSL titans No. 4 Manchester City (€12.9 million) and No. 5 Manchester United (€12.8 million).
Due to a lack of revenue data, the yearly study did not include major women's leagues in the US, Sweden, or Australia, giving the rankings a European bent as the total sum crossed the €150 million mark for the first time — a 35% increase over the previous season's Top-15 Money League clubs.
Commercial income was the biggest revenue driver for many top clubs, with sponsorship deals and brand partnerships leading the charge.
Arsenal also benefitted from increased revenue on the men's side, allowing the women's team to up its investment while avoiding running at a loss.
How to watch the top Deloitte Football Money League clubs in action
Deloitte Football Money League leader Arsenal will take on No. 5 Man United while revenue runners-up Chelsea will face the WSL-leading Man City in the 2025/26 Women's League Cup semifinals on Wednesday.
The concurrent clashes will kick off at 2 PM ET, streaming live on YouTube.