Finishing fourth was not the plan for Manchester City last season, but it may have been a blessing in disguise for the 2025-26 champions.
After all, Andree Jeglertz’s side have had the luxury of playing 10 fewer games than Arsenal.
The expanded Champions League format this season meant more matches, while the Gunners also played an extra two games in the inaugural edition of the Champions Cup.
Playing in five competitions has tested the club’s squad depth to the limit.
Alessia Russo has been Slegers’ most used player, with 3,150 minutes under her belt.
At City, Khadija Shaw – the league’s top scorer – has played 762 minutes fewer than Russo, equivalent to almost eight and a half games.
Meanwhile, Mariona Caldentey, who was named the WSL player of the year for 2024-25, has played 3,092 minutes and not hit the same heights as last season.
As the chart shows, on average, Arsenal’s squad have played 481 minutes more than Manchester City.
That extra time on the pitch has arguably taken its toll, with the players looking jaded in the 1-1 draw at Brighton last week – four days after their European title defence came to a crushing end in Lyon.
Those dropped points against the Seagulls left Arsenal unable to catch City, who won the title for the first time since 2016.
With fixtures pushed back because of their Champions League and Champions Cup commitments, Arsenal’s schedule has been condensed at the end of the season.
The Gunners have played six games in the past 18 days. In that same period, City have played two.
“Too many games were postponed to this part of the season,” former Scotland and Arsenal defender Jen Beattie told the Women’s Football Weekly podcast.
“It’s the hardest part, so you don’t want your biggest accumulation of games to come at this point in the season.”
With the season effectively over for Arsenal, the club’s transfer plans are already well under way before what promises to be a busy summer, perhaps to address some of their shortcomings.
On Monday, Arsenal confirmed Beth Mead will leave the club after nine years, having scored 86 goals in 264 appearances. Defender Laia Codina and midfielder Victoria Pelova will also depart at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, the club have been heavily linked with some big signings, including Bayern Munich and England midfielder Georgia Stanway and Barcelona full-back Ona Batlle.