Arsenal women climb to 3rd but injuries a worry

Arsenal women head into the mid-season break firmly in the Champions League places after a crucial win at Everton, with the race for second place now sharply in focus.

Following a key 3-1 win away at Everton on Saturday, Arsenal women have climbed one place in the table and into the Champions League qualification positions. The Gunners trail Manchester City by eight points, so the title race is not on, but second place is very much there to be taken.

City and Chelsea both won comfortably at the weekend, but Manchester United and Tottenham dropped two points as they drew 3-3 at Leigh Sports Village, despite Spurs being 3-0 up.

Despite being in the middle of a five-games-in-15-days block, Renée Slegers has maintained a stable starting XI, making only three changes. We saw the return of captain Kim Little, which underlined just how important she is to the team. Emily Fox was also given a rest midweek and came back into the side.

What is worrying is that three players have started all 16 club games this season: Steph Catley, Alessia Russo and Mariona Caldentey.

All three appear in the FIFPRO report on player workload, meaning they are overloaded and therefore at increased risk of injury.

For example, in the top five for total appearances in 2024–25, Frida Maanum is third with 58 games, 43 at club level and 15 internationally, while Mariona Caldentey is fifth with 57 games, 41 club and 16 international.

In the consecutive appearances rankings, Maanum is joint top with 36 games, while Russo is fourth with 35.

In the top five international players for travel in 2024–25, Kyra Cooney-Cross is first, Caitlin Foord is third and Catley is fourth.

Maanum is competing for a place in the starting XI, so her workload is not quite the same as the others, but you do wonder whether Catley, Russo and Caldentey can get a breather soon before something happens.

There are now two away games before the Christmas break.

The final Champions League group game, away in Leuven, Belgium, will decide both where Arsenal finish and who they face in the play-offs after the break.

That is followed by the Subway Cup quarter-final at Crystal Palace, where hopefully some rotation will be possible.

It would be great to see Arsenal crowned the best team in the world by winning the first edition of what is essentially the women’s Intercontinental Cup, a tournament reserved for the very best, with qualification dependent on winning a continental Champions League.