Arsenal Women Secure Late Win Against Paris FC and Lia's Departure

The new Women’s Super League season is still on the horizon, but Arsenal Women are already moving at full speed. A late pre-season win, a promising youngster heading to Germany, and Renée Slegers quietly tightening the screws on a squad expected to challenge again.

This is how their week unfolded.

Smith strikes at the death against Paris FC

For 90 minutes at Mangata Developments Stadium in Borehamwood, it felt like one of those pre-season afternoons that drift into nothing. Plenty of structure, plenty of running, very little cutting edge.

Then Olivia Smith changed it.

Deep into stoppage time against Paris FC on Sunday, the Canadian forward, who arrived in north London last summer, finally broke the deadlock. Cutting inside, she opened up her body and picked out the far corner in the 91st minute to seal a 1-0 win and inject some late drama into what had threatened to be a goalless stalemate.

It was only a friendly, only August, but it mattered. Slegers used the game to hand minutes across her squad, nudging players closer to full match sharpness as the 2026/27 campaign creeps into view. The performance wasn’t flawless; the manager said as much afterwards, pleased with certain passages but clear that the finer details still need work before the serious business begins.

Leah Williamson also drew encouragement from the display, another sign of a group slowly knitting together with the WSL opener already looming on the calendar.

Vivienne Lia makes permanent move to Eintracht Frankfurt

While Smith delivered late joy on the pitch, the week also brought a notable departure.

On Friday, Arsenal confirmed that 19-year-old winger Vivienne Lia has joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a permanent deal. Lia first arrived in the club’s academy in 2021 at the age of 14 and climbed through the youth ranks before deciding to continue her development in Germany.

Her exit is part of a broader reshaping of the women’s squad after a busy summer of ins and outs. For Slegers, the focus is shifting. The bulk of the squad building is done; now the emphasis lies on moulding what she has into a side ready to hit competitive intensity from the first whistle of the new season.

Charlton next as countdown continues

There isn’t much time to breathe.

Arsenal are back at Mangata Developments Stadium on Wednesday, 26 August, when they host Charlton Athletic Women in their next pre-season friendly. Another test, another chance for Slegers to refine patterns, tweak combinations and push fitness levels up another notch.

Then comes the real thing.

Arsenal open their Women’s Super League campaign away to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, 6 September. By then, the experimentation will be over. The coming weeks should reveal just how ready this new-look group is for a title push that will not wait for anyone.