Arsenal women: ‘No excuses’ to not win WSL title says Steph Catley

Arsenal defender Steph Catley says there can be “no excuses” if the Champions League winners fail to challenge Chelsea for the Women’s Super League title this season.

Chelsea’s stranglehold has resulted in them winning six successive league titles.

The last time once-dominant Arsenal won the WSL was in 2019.

Despite being the only English team to win the Women’s Champions League – doing so twice – they have fallen behind domestically in recent seasons.

Now, inspired by winning the European crown in May, Catley says the Gunners can catch up their London rivals in the WSL.

“As soon as you win something as big as [the Champions League], there is a target on your back,” Catley told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Women’s Football Weekly podcast.

“There is an expectation that you should go on and do amazing things. Domestically, we haven’t won nearly as much as we probably could have and we probably should have.

“There’s really no excuses. We have the team. We have everything in place. It’s about putting it together on the field and matching up to those expectations.”

Catley identifies consistency as the key to success, and it is something Arsenal were building last term. A poor start to the season resulted in the departure of manager Jonas Eidevall, with Renee Slegers named as interim head coach.

Slegers enjoyed huge success and was appointed on a permanent basis before the team sealed European glory by beating Barcelona in Lisbon.

Catley says the Arsenal squad have been “working deeply” with Slegers this summer to understand what makes them tick.

“Our goal is to be consistent from round one and then maintain that. Domestically, you can’t afford [to dip in form],” added Catley.

“Chelsea have made a habit of being able to win when they are maybe not playing their best football and I think that’s something we could learn from them.

“Our football looks wonderful most of the time, but is it getting us wins consistently? It probably hasn’t in the past.”