Five things we learned | Arsenal v Leicester City

Five things we learned as Arsenal send message to Man City with Leicester rout

Arsenal kept their Barclays Women’s Super League title challenge alive on Wednesday as they recorded their biggest win for almost two-and-a-half years, thrashing Leicester City 7-0 at the Emirates Stadium – a result which confirmed the visitors’ relegation.

Here are five key takeaways from a goal-laden night in North London…

Title race set to go down to the wire?

Leaders Manchester City’s weekend loss to Brighton gave Arsenal a glimmer of hope in the BWSL title race – and with their biggest win since January 2023, the Gunners have turned that glimmer into a gleam.

With Arsenal eight points behind Man City with two games in hand – which, on the evidence of Wednesday night – would give them ample opportunity to close the goal-difference gap of six – the title race is very much on, and it will go down to the wire if the Gunners keep winning.

The BWSL has a recent history of tense battles at the top, with the title being decided on the final day in three of the last four seasons.

A glut of goals

In the space of three matches, Arsenal have taken their goals tally from 28 to 45 – having beaten West Ham United 5-0 and North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 in their two games preceding this latest comprehensive win.

They’ve had nine different scorers in that time, with Chloe Kelly and Stina Blackstenius bagging braces against West Ham and Leicester respectively – and Alessia Russo hitting a hat-trick against Spurs.

Similarly reassuring for Renee Slegers will be her team’s abundance of reliable individual creative outlets: Arsenal have a BWSL-high seven players with three or more assists to their name this term.

Arsenal’s leading assist providers in 2025/26 BWSL

Blackstenius bang in form

Arsenal aren’t over-reliant on any one player – they had five different scorers against Leicester and have four players on five or more BWSL goals this term – but if there’s anyone who might propel them towards glory more than most, it’s Blackstenius.

The Swedish international extended her purple patch with a brace at the Emirates – having done likewise in November’s reverse fixture – making it five goals and two assists in her last eight club appearances in all competitions.

Blackstenius’ first goal, a perfectly directed header from near the penalty spot into the bottom corner, epitomised just how clinical she is right now.

Gunners’ rearguard rigidity should stand them in good stead

On top of their clear attacking prowess, Arsenal showed once again why they are the toughest nut to crack in the BWSL, keeping their ninth clean sheet of the campaign – the most in the league, despite having played at least one match less than any other side.

The Gunners’ defensive performance this term has been quite astonishing: on average, they concede just 0.71 expected goals (xG) per game – 0.38 less than next best-ranked Man City – and have limited their opponents to under 1.0 xG in all but three matches. As such, it follows that they’ve let in a league-low 12 goals (six at home and six away).

Having the best defensive record is no guarantee of the BWSL title, though it has belonged to the champions in four out of eight campaigns since the initial expansion to 10 teams in 2017 – including Arsenal themselves in 2018/19.

Leicester’s lack of potency proves terminal

After five years, Leicester’s BWSL stay has come to an end, with Wednesday’s defeat – their 15^th of the season and their ninth in a row – condemning them to bottom spot.

While they’ve conceded a league-high 48 goals in 20 games, the Foxes have ultimately paid the price for their bluntness at the sharp end of the pitch: they’ve found the net only 10 times – at least seven fewer than any other side – with one player, Shannon O’Brien, accounting for four of those 10 goals. Rick Passmoor’s team have failed to score in 10 of their 20 matches, never registering more than one goal.

And such struggles have been a recurring theme throughout Leicester’s five seasons in the top flight: only once have they averaged better than a goal a game. A return to the BWSL2 gives them a chance to reset and rebuild, with that attacking deficiency perhaps the key issue to address as and when they bounce back.

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