LONDON, England -- Is it too early to rule Arsenal out of the title race? After a bruising 1-0 loss to Chelsea on Sunday, Arsenal's season feels just about irreparable.
It's perhaps premature to make sweeping conclusions about the title race only four games into the WSL season, but as Arsenal's campaign goes from bad to worse, their title hopes are hanging in the balance.
The Gunners' current shot conversion rate of 2.5% this term is the worst in the WSL since bottom of the league Yeovil Town in 2017-18 (2.2%). They have only scored twice in their first four games of this season.
Arsenal had a 1-0 win over Brighton in their 2026-27 opener, but stumbled next in a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace. Then, they rescued a point in the final minute of stoppage time against Manchester United, dropping seven points in total -- claiming a measly five points from a possible nine.
This was supposed to be the season that ended the Gunners' seven-year title drought. But following a profligate 1-0 loss to Chelsea on Sunday, it looks anything but.
For the third time this season, the Gunners were made to pay for their wastefulness. Chelsea had done their homework and Arsenal played right into it. The Blues set up a solid defensive block and allowed Arsenal to have the ball. They were patient and hit the visitors on the counter, eventually building pressure that led to Alyssa Thompson's match-winning goal.
None of Arsenal's eight chances in the first half had any real conviction. It was a case of: get the ball in a good area and hope for the best. Even Mariona Caldentey was unable to bury her close-range chance, unmarked in the box.
The difference between the sides is the mentality. Chelsea celebrated the goal like they had won the world cup. They knew what breaking the deadlock could do. They are unbeaten in each of their last 45 WSL matches when leading at any stage (W38 D7).
Even during Arsenal's late flurry of chances in the second half following a triple substitution, Chelsea pulled off an impressive defensive display to hold on. It may have been 1-0 but the calmness and composure Chelsea showed was indicative of a team capable of reclaiming their title.
Last season, backs-to-the-wall defending would have been Chelsea's undoing. At times it was haphazard and messy but this season, it is composed and controlled. It is why The Blues are undefeated so far this season.
"The plan for this season is in terms of mindset and mentality is to be strong and to be together," Bompastor said after the game. "No matter what happened in the game, I always want to see a group of players, but also a team together in our high moments, when we are doing well, but also in the low moments.
"We were also really strong in terms of mental, but also physical aspects in terms of winning the duals, defending the box, and not to concede. I think it's a great result of the performance."
The display warranted the elated reaction from Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor, who embraced Katie McCabe. The Ireland captain switched sides during the summer and though she received the loudest reception -- a mix of ire from her former fans and adulation from her new supporters -- she had the last laugh.
McCabe had weathered the storm of facing her former team with composure and smugness, not rising to their indignation but letting it fuel her performance.
At the final whistle, three Arsenal players collapsed to the ground stretching their legs like they had just played one of the most important 90 minutes of their careers. And for their title hopes, they have.
The summer transfer window was a highlight for the club, bringing in eight new players, overhauling the squad and creating a new-look Arsenal tasked with ending their seven-year title drought. Early returns say: it does not look like that will be happening.
At some point, Arsenal manager Renée Slegers has to take some risks, be a bit braver with her squad choice and rip up the script because what she's done thus far is not working.
Maybe Slegers lacks the ruthlessness as a manager to make tough calls dealing with a squad with such depth and wealth of international talent. Maybe she has too many options, too many players and too many decisions to make to be able to make the right ones.
Despite the poor performances, out-of-form players have been rewarded with a string of starts and substitutions while other players, particularly new signings Selina Cerci and Géraldine Reuteler had been frozen out, restricted to a last-ditch nine-minutes to try and rescue a point.
Slegers resorted to her insistence to play Alessia Russo as a midfielder at the hour mark to accommodate Stina Blackstenius. It has rarely worked in the past and has been anything but effective this season, moving the best goal scorer out of position and creating confusion.
Perhaps the biggest tell that Arsenal's squad depth is causing chaos is that skipper Kim Little looked utterly perplexed following a triple substitution just after the hour mark while Emily Fox was off the pitch being treated for a minor head knock.
Slegers admitted it was purely circumstantial, but the confusion persisted following Fox's reintroduction to play, with Little, Russo and Kyra Cooney-Cross all struggling to figure out where they were meant to be playing.
Even Caitlin Foord gestured confusion when trying to clarify who was meant to be where. It lasted about five minutes indicating the management of the squad is causing more problems than it is fixing.
Unless Arsenal can figure out a way to score, this dip in form will only persist.
"Worried? No, and confidence is something that fluctuates," Slegers said post match. "The players] know who they are and they know what they can bring. What's important is there's always phases in the season and there's different things you need to work on or focus on.
"It's important that we keep any pressure and any complexity away from the players because we believe in them and they can be ruthless in front of goal and they can score. So, it's just really important that we keep that simplicity and clear heads, clear minds for the players."
Manchester City won the title by four points last term. Chelsea won it with 12 points to spare the season prior and the title was decided on goal difference in 2023-24 when Arsenal were five points behind.
A seven-point gulf is damning in a title race, it is even worse four weeks into the season in what is supposed to be Arsenal's return to the top.
It is unlikely that Chelsea or Man City will spend this season unbeaten. The league has developed and the gap has closed on the top three to see another dominant campaign like that.
But it gives Arsenal no room for a slip up when they are balancing the Champions League and possible end stages of the FA Cup, meaning that every point counts.
With 22 games left Arsenal must be perfect from now on. Given their crisis of confidence in front of goal and inability to manage such squad depth, it is hard to imagine they will be. Arsenal are out of time to figure it out, though. They are now seven points behind the holders who they face next weekend.
A loss to the reigning champions would be catastrophic for Slegers, the moral and the title race. It will be a defining seven days for the north London.