Arsenal's summer revolution: How signing Georgia Stanway, Ona Batlle and more has put Gunners on track to end WSL title drought despite big-name departures

After being appointed head coach on a full-time basis in January 2025, following a successful interim spell, this summer feels like one in which Renee Slegers is putting her mark on this Arsenal team in the strongest way to date.

It was a natural moment for mass change to occur because of all the players out of contract. It was always going to be a period in which Slegers' and the club's vision really shone through, depending on the players they chose to renew and how they opted to replace those let go.

What do the decisions made tell us, then?

One of the most obvious takeaways is the desire to bring down the average age of the group. No team in the WSL had an older squad than the Gunners last season, while only Juventus ranked above them in that category among teams to qualify for the 2025-26 Women's Champions League league phase.

With eight of the nine oldest members of the squad out of contract, then, Slegers and the club had an obvious opportunity to act when it came to reducing that number. Not everyone would leave, with Kim Little (36), Steph Catley (32), Caitlin Foord (31), Stina Blackstenius (30) and Leah Williamson (29) all renewing, and reports suggest that there was a last-minute desire to keep McCabe, with Mead over Foord also potentially a preference.

Still, three of the eight oldest players in this squad bid farewell, with the departures of McCabe (30), Mead (31) and Zinsberger (30) trimming the age of the group down a little ahead of some younger recruitment. Stanway, Batlle and Geraldine Reuteler are all 27 years old, Selina Cerci just turned 26 and Baum is still only 19. If Paralluelo also joins the club, she is only 22 as well.

Of course, Arsenal's recruitment has not just been about lowering that average age. There are several reasons why the Gunners have fallen short in the chase for another WSL title in recent years, and this transfer movement can help address some of those.

One relates to depth. Slegers didn't completely lack options last year, but she also didn't have the deepest squad, with no team actually using fewer players in the WSL than Arsenal. Of teams to make the Champions League league phase, meanwhile, only six used fewer: Benfica, St. Polten, Valerenga, Wolfsburg, OH Leuven and Twente.

Several players who were available for selection by Slegers found themselves massively out of favour, reducing the pool further. Jenna Nighswonger played once before being sent on loan to Aston Villa in January, while Codina and Pelova struggled for opportunities in a way which made their departures this summer unsurprising.

With Katie Reid suffering an ACL injury early in the season, Williamson only able to make two league starts amid regular fitness issues and Kyra Cooney-Cross' availability massively reduced due to her mother's ill health, Slegers was not working with a lot, in terms of numbers, and that really needed to change.

There was also a growing over-dependence on certain individuals. That was especially the case in midfield, where a noticeable drop-off could occur if Little and Mariona Caldentey didn't start in the two deeper midfield roles. The signings of Stanway and Reuteler, then, combined with what one would expect to be greater availability from Cooney-Cross, are extremely welcome as the Gunners look to ensure the responsibility is shared in those positions.

Stanway arrives off the back of a season at Bayern Munich that saw her deployed much deeper than usual, and to great success, while Reuteler has the ability to play a variety of midfield roles, meaning she can also potentially provide another option in the No.10 position, too.

It's natural for teams to be reliant on players that are of the quality of Little and Caldentey, but the degree to which that was sometimes the case for Arsenal last season was far from ideal.

It is perhaps in attack that the new arrivals could be most impactful, though. Slegers had options there last season. Alessia Russo had a starting spot nailed down in the No.9 role, with Blackstenius able to replace her off the bench or play ahead of her, as the England international dropped in as a No.10. Out wide, Mead, Foord, Chloe Kelly and Olivia Smith were all options, allowing Slegers to adjust for different gameplans and also swap both starters out around the hour, as she often did.

However, it was all quite predictable after a while. Frida Maanum was often the only other option in the No.10 role, meaning it became routine for Russo to drop in there when Blackstenius came on, while opponents also knew that Slegers was likely to make two straight swaps on the wings in the second half. If one of those wide players was injured, as was the case with both Kelly and Mead at times, there was even less variety.

By adding Reuteler, who can play in the No.10 role; Cerci, another option as a striker who can play wide if necessary; potentially Baum, able to play on either flank and maybe also centrally; and even Batlle, who can play as an inverted left-back to create a different problem for opponents, this adds unpredictably, versatility and variety, as well as depth. It's exactly what Arsenal need to maintain a consistent threat in attack, even as games don't go their way.

And in a more clichéd sense, what these signings also bring to the table is a statement of intent. Batlle might not factor prominently into points about the midfield, attacking variety or depth - the latter largely because full-back has been a very well-stocked position for a while for Arsenal - but she's a world-class player. To sign her from Barcelona, the reigning European champions, in her prime years, is massive.

Stanway arrives with a similar reputation. A back-to-back European champion with England, she has regularly stepped up on big occasions and delivered, marking herself out as one of the best midfielders in the world as a result.

Cerci might not have the same name recognition, but she has been the most prolific player in the Bundesliga over the last two seasons, with Reuteler's quality there for all to see after she starred in Switzerland's historic run to the knockout stages of last year's European Championship.

Baum, meanwhile, has the potential to hit serious heights, if that deal is completed as expected. These are top quality signings by the Gunners and they are being done in a timely manner, to get the players integrated into the first-team ahead of pre-season.

While Chelsea's search for a striker goes on after three notable rejections, Manchester City make subtle additions in Mead and Niamh Charles, and mumblings surrounding Manchester United's transfer activity are even more subdued, with Andrea Medina the only arrival thus far, Arsenal have made a serious statement at the start of this summer transfer window.

Will it translate to a first WSL title since 2019? It's far too early to say, but the signs are certainly positive.