Reignite Chloe Kelly's form, create chances for Alessia Russo & six changes Arsenal must make to get out of their slump and make Women's Super League title push

One of the most notable struggles Arsenal have had in the early stages of this season has come in the form of high-profile mistakes when playing out from the back. That's been a particular issue amid the absence of Leah Williamson, whose quality in possession is a big reason why the Gunners are usually so good in building out from the defence, and whose spell on the sidelines has certainly had a negative impact on that facet of the team's game thus far this season.

Encouragingly, Slegers took steps to address these errors, explaining after the win over Brighton: "We’ve been working on the build-up and, when the ball is in our own half, how we can have more forward intent so we don’t have to go backwards and teams can just go high and player for player and everyone is under pressure."

It has had an immediately positive impact, not just because Arsenal have won their last two games but because they've kept two clean sheets in them, at least in part due to the fact that they've not been putting themselves in precarious situations in possession.

A few days later, Slegers explained that she saw this as a "medium- or long-term" measure. "We want to find ways to beat that press but also not to invite the press and that is what we have been working on," she added.

It's vital that, despite turning things around a little in recent weeks, Slegers sticks with this for the time being and doesn't allow those errors to creep back into Arsenal's game, especially while Williamson remains sidelined. If those issues return, it would be seriously problematic. 

Arsenal have been underwhelming in attack too, particularly with the lack of urgency shown in the opposition's half. Take the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, for example, where the Gunners were 1-0 up until a late, late equaliser from their visitors punished them for not finishing the game off.

"I just don’t think we have the intensity and urgency in and around the box to kill the game, because we get an early goal," Slegers noted after that result. "But as long as it’s 1-0, the opposition always feels like they’re still in the game. You only need one moment and that’s what happened today."

That felt like the case in the 1-0 win over Brighton, too, despite Arsenal's lead coming about as a result of a rather lucky own goal. Fortunately, the Seagulls were unable to make them pay for that lack of chance creation as the Gunners ended their winless run.

But Slegers' side should absolutely not be resting on their laurels in these games. If they want to really turn that form around and reel off the results that are needed to get them back into the WSL title race, while proving that they can put up a sturdy European title defence, they have to show more urgency and positivity in the final third and a greater will to get shots off when the space opens up, rather than passing up the opportunity to get a strike on goal, regardless of the scoreline.

It's especially important for Arsenal to look more dangerous in the final third because Alessia Russo, who had her best goal-scoring season to date last term, has been starved of service. In the WSL, the England international ranks 16th for shots and 31st for shots on target, per 90 minutes, with her able to score just one goal from open play, and one penalty, in the competition as a result. That simply has to improve if the Gunners are to return to their best.

It's not really on Russo, either. To watch Arsenal is to watch some great build-up and some especially electric wide play, only for the final ball to disappoint. So often, the crosses from the wings are particularly poor, which has been frustrating given how great a lot of the work before that is. Russo's movement, positioning and awareness in the box has come on leaps and bounds, and her team-mates need to improve balls into the area for her to allow her to continue to showcase that and make Arsenal a more efficient and effective team going forward.

Factoring into the need for that service for Russo to improve is the form of Chloe Kelly, which Arsenal need to reignite to make themselves a more dangerous attacking prospect. The England star was outstanding after signing for the Gunners on loan back in January, providing a series of game-changing moments and performances during her four months back in north London, so much so that the club opted to make the move permanent in the summer.

Despite continuing that theme of being an elite difference-maker at the European Championship, where her heroics were key to England's second successive continental triumph, Kelly has struggled for form at the start of this new season. That is clearly down to fitness to some degree, with some heavy strapping on her knee visible earlier this month. If the Gunners can nurse her back to full health, though, she could provide a real boost to a team that has lacked attacking spark on more than one occasion, with her quick-thinking assist for Russo in the win over Benfica just before the international break a great reminder of as much.

Last season, it felt like Slegers could do no wrong. As an interim, she drastically turned things around following Jonas Eidevall's departure, secured the job on a full-time basis in January and then went on to guide Arsenal to their first European triumph since 2007. She worked wonders and deserved all the praise that came her way.

At the start of this new season, though, the manager has come in for a little more criticism, particularly when it comes to her team selection. In the WSL, the Gunners have used the joint-fewest number of players through the first six games, with only three teams starting fewer different players in that time. A total of just 38 minutes of game time for Kyra Cooney-Cross, the talented Australia midfielder, has been a particular point of ire, as has been the complete lack of use of Jenna Nighswonger, the United States full-back.

This has led to Slegers' selection of a starting XI and even her substitutions becoming quite predictable. It's pretty easy to correctly guess at least nine of the 11 players in an Arsenal line-up and the changes are consistent, too, with straight swaps out wide and in the No.10 role almost always coming around the hour mark. That's despite players in this squad having real versatility, too.

Mariona Caldentey is a good example of this. Last season, she was used flexibly as a deep-lying midfielder, an attacking midfielder and an inverted left winger. This year, she has almost exclusively played the former role.

"She’s got to trust in that squad," Ian Wright said of Slegers' team selections while on punditry for Sky Sports during the 1-1 draw with Villa. "She uses the same substitutes every time. There’s no difference in the game. There’s no change in the way somebody’s going to come on and suddenly make it quicker and sharper for us, because she’s using the same players."

A little more unpredictability would certainly make this Arsenal team tougher to play against and prepare for, and likely change games more regularly in their favour.

Most crucial of all is that Arsenal start to look more like themselves quickly. Given their struggles, the international window felt like it came at a good time for the Gunners, allowing the players a break from the situation and Slegers a chance to assess everything and figure out what her next steps should be in trying to rediscover their best form.

That's even more the case given what lays ahead of this team. The European champions are eased into their return to action a little bit this weekend, taking on a Leicester City side that has just one win from their first six games. After that, though, it is relentless.

Arsenal host Chelsea on November 8, visit Bayern Munich on November 12, travel to Tottenham on November 16 and then have Real Madrid on November 19. If they don't improve quickly, any hopes of challenging for the WSL crown could disappear quite quickly - and that European title defence may start to look pretty weak, too.