Lionesses legend Chloe Kelly can still salvage injury-hit season as England's Euros hero returns to Arsenal ranks for run-in

It was around this time last year that Kelly really started to make her mark on a 2025 that would prove huge for her, her club and her country. Having secured a loan move away from a difficult situation at Manchester City, Kelly's second debut for childhood club Arsenal came in the north London derby on February 16, allowing her to squeeze into an England squad she had initially missed out on for that month's international break.

A couple of weeks later, Kelly bagged a goal and an assist on her first WSL start in almost five months, and that would spark quite a run of form for a player who had barely got on the pitch during the first half of the season. Two goals and five assists in the final 12 games of Arsenal's campaign helped the Gunners clinch a Champions League berth for this season and, most importantly, that European title in May.

Given the way her season ended, and the history she has of producing huge moments for England over the years, perhaps it is no surprise that Kelly took centre stage when Euro 2025 kicked-off, despite not even starting a game for the Lionesses. The winger provided a goal or an assist in all three of her country's knockout ties, as well as scoring in both of the penalty shootouts that England won as Sarina Wiegman's side retained their title from 2022 - one also sealed by a Kelly goal.

"She loves these moments," Wiegman said of Kelly after her spot-kick decided the shootout in the final against Spain. "She really wants to take the penalty. To be able to score that penalty under that pressure is very impressive."

It was all set up for Kelly to carry that momentum into the 2025-26 season, back in Arsenal's colours on a permanent basis, back in favour and back getting minutes for club and country. But it just has not panned out that way.

Kelly missed a game at West Ham early in the season due to a knock, sported visible strapping on her right knee for a few weeks after that and didn't look herself as she nursed the issue, registering just two goals and three assists in her 12 appearances before being forced off in England's final game of 2025.

The winger then spent almost two months on the sidelines, returning just in time to be part of Arsenal's FIFA Women's Champions Cup triumph at the end of January.

But the good news is that Kelly is back now,  just in time for those big games which she appears to relish more than most. The winger has been slowly but surely building her minutes up over the last few weeks, making substitute appearances against AS FAR, Corinthians and Man City before that start in Leuven, where she looked surprisingly sharp given her time on the sidelines.

Kelly played an hour in Belgium before being replaced by Alessia Russo and she impressed, most notably with the perfect delivery for Olivia Smith's goal. That was one of three accurate crosses the England star produced - a number only bettered by Katie McCabe's four, which she had the whole 90 minutes to rack up. Kelly's passing was accurate, her play was positive and her defensive work was strong, too, in a dominant win.

"I am feeling really good, building minutes in the legs, building momentum, getting the rustiness out of them," she said after the game.

Though Arsenal's trip to Brighton was postponed on Sunday, Kelly has two more important games before the upcoming international break to keep building those minutes and that momentum. On Wednesday, the Gunners host Leuven in the second leg of their Champions League play-off, and then they welcome second-tier Bristol City to north London at the weekend, in the FA Cup. The European champions will be big favourites in both games, giving Kelly a relatively pressure-free go at working her way back to her best.

Her return couldn't come at a better time for England, either, given the Lionesses are going to be without both Ella Toone and Beth Mead for the upcoming international break, which begins after the FA Cup weekend. Kelly's creativity could be key in crucial World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland, who will both be expected to sit back and make it difficult for England's attack.

After that, the big games come thick and fast. Unless Leuven pull off something incredible on Wednesday, a two-legged Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea awaits Arsenal in a few weeks' time, with the Gunners also expected to be involved in the last eight of the FA Cup. In the WSL, meanwhile, every game is huge given how tight the race for European qualification is. After their trip to Brighton on Sunday was postponed, the Gunners are now four points off Chelsea in the third and final UWCL spot, albeit with two games in hand.

Fortunately, in Kelly, Arsenal have a player who thrives in these moments, and they have a nice runway to get her back up to speed in time for them to come along.

"We’ve missed her," Gunners boss Renee Slegers said of the winger upon her return to action at the end of last month. "She’s so hungry, she’s so engaged and you could see that on the pitch as well. She wanted to be back and make an impact on the team. You can just feel that desire, so it’s really good for us as a team to have Chloe back."

That's because this is a player who doesn't just decide games; she decides the biggest games. Arsenal know that, England know that, and both club and country will hope Kelly can prove as much again before the end of what has been, for reasons out of her control, a tough season so far.