Chelsea vs Arsenal is the most played match in the history of the Women's Super League. It's part of what makes it so interesting.
But this particular encounter has an extra layer of intrigue, as Sonia Bompastor and Renee Slegers face each other for the very first time: two power women at the top of the game.
The poignancy of this fixture is also helped by its recent context. The last time these two sides met at the Emirates Stadium in October, Jonas Eidevall was in charge of Arsenal with Slegers, his number two. Emma Hayes watched from the control box for the first time since leaving Chelsea as her former team dismantled the Gunners. piece by piece.
A 2-1 win hardly did justice to the demolition. Chelsea stood head and shoulders above the rest and preyed on a host of vulnerabilities that had crept into Arsenal's play after a torrid start to the season. Opta put Arsenal's chances of winning the WSL title after that loss at 1.4 percent.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Eidevall resigned 48 hours later, with Slegers thrust into the spotlight to fill the void – a position she has held ever since.
So far, the succession plan has worked perfectly. Arsenal are unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions, a record that dates back to that miserable day in October, while the style and consistency of performance has helped regain the confidence of supporters. Slegers has earned a lot of credit for her mastery of such a dramatic turnaround.
Then comes the real acid test. Arsenal's recent run has been impressive, but not entirely unexpected, as Slegers has one of the most gifted and versatile squads in Europe. They weren't inherently evil towards the end of Eidevall's reign, they were just misguided, and the results since then prove that.
But Arsenal haven't won at Chelsea in the league since 2018 when Joe Montemurro was in charge, virtually no team has ever done that. Chelsea have won 40 of their last 42 home games, a run that started with a 3-0 win against Arsenal in February 2021.
Slegers has proven she can devise a game plan smart enough to beat Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Aston Villa in the league, and she has also been tactically astute in Europe, overseeing a decisive win at Bayern before the winter break Munich to avenge a 5-2 defeat. in the inverted fixture.
However, this weekend's proposal is different.
The Slegers project will take shape through games against its biggest rivals, and its resolve will be tested to the limit at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as Arsenal look to do what no opposing team has ever done in that arena: win.
The belief that an outcome is possible is the first hurdle and one of the reasons why many have tried and failed against Chelsea – psychologically they always seem to have the upper hand. Hayes used the monster mentality as Chelsea's superpower throughout her hugely successful 12-year tenure, always taking the pressure, and Bompastor operates in the same way.
Arsenal also has an advantage under Slegers. They have gone from no-hopers to Chelsea's biggest threat by tightening up at both ends of the pitch and restoring their self-interest. No team chases titles feeling sorry for itself.
“I just feel like Renee sees me,” Leah Williamson said in a recent interview. “It's probably something Dutch, but she doesn't just say things. She says what she means, and she looks at things from a slightly different perspective than I know from a coach.”
The defender, who scored her first WSL goal in almost two years in the 5-0 defeat to Palace last week, says Slegers' biggest strength has been her ability to create an environment that “empowers people”. Her style – confident and direct – has reshaped the dressing room and the way they view what is possible this season.
Arsenal scored 21 WSL goals under Slegers, at an average of three per game, and have won the last five without conceding, with more clean sheets (8) than any other side.
Chelsea's rampant attack will of course be a stress test of how stable the Gunners' much-improved backline actually is, but any result in Arsenal's favor would reignite this year's title race – certainly a welcome renewed boost for the whole competition.
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