Arsenal Women head into Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Paris FC with an increasingly obvious problem to solve.
Goals have become extremely difficult to find.
Renée Slegers’ side have scored only twice across their opening four Women’s Super League matches, taking five points from a possible 12.
The sequence now reads: Brighton 0-1 Arsenal, Arsenal 0-0 Crystal Palace, Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United and Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal.
That is not simply one frustrating afternoon.
It is becoming a pattern.
Arsenal creating without converting
Sunday’s defeat at Stamford Bridge provided perhaps the clearest example.
Arsenal started impressively against Chelsea and spent long periods in control, with Kim Little and Mariona Caldentey both striking the woodwork.
Chelsea’s official match report noted that Arsenal dominated possession early and produced four efforts inside the opening 15 minutes.
Yet Hannah Hampton’s goal remained untouched.
Alyssa Thompson eventually punished Arsenal at the opposite end before half-time, leaving Slegers’ side chasing another match in which possession and territory had failed to become goals.
The defeat followed a goalless home draw with Crystal Palace and a 1-1 result against Manchester United.
Even Arsenal’s Champions League opener required a stoppage-time Mariona penalty to secure a 1-0 victory over HB Køge.
Across five competitive matches this season, Arsenal have therefore scored only three times.
Slegers needs more from Arsenal attack
The encouraging part is that Arsenal are still getting themselves into threatening positions.
Little and Mariona were inches from changing Sunday’s game, while Lisa Baum also forced Hampton into a second-half save.
That suggests the problem is not simply an inability to progress the ball.
Arsenal need greater conviction once those promising attacks reach the final third.
Slegers remains confident.
After the Chelsea defeat, she said: “The goals and the points will come.”
Her wider post-match message was equally clear: Arsenal must now earn their way back into the title conversation.
Paris FC provides the immediate opportunity to respond.
Arsenal already know Wednesday’s opponents after beating them 1-0 during pre-season, but the competitive meeting carries considerably greater weight.
If Arsenal are to build momentum in Europe before another major WSL test against Manchester City, turning control into goals has to become the priority.
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