Chelsea under Sonia Bompastor is unbeaten in domestic football. Arsenal want to be the ones to break it.
Like every season, this fixture shapes the WSL title race. Beat Chelsea, and Arsenal can flip the tables. Lose, and the chase gets harder.
They have met 55 times in their history; Arsenal have won 26, Chelsea 23, with six draws.
The last time Arsenal won this derby was in the League Cup final in March 2024.
In the last six meetings, Chelsea have won four and Arsenal have won two.
A rivalry built on legacy and history
This rivalry is beyond the London postcode. While both are in London and there is geographic proximity, it is not technically a sides' local derby; however, it transcends London. On the women’s side, as with the men, this is more than geography; this derby is ingrained in their history, the present, and the future.
This goes beyond history; it's about legacy, fan bases, and results.
For the women, this is a rivalry wrapped in silverware, finals, and drama, a derby created and defined on the pitch.
Arsenal women’s owned the early 2000s with big moments, titles, and consistent top-tier romance.
Chelsea were promoted to the top league in 2005, but remained the underdogs in the rivalry after losing 6-0 in their first top-flight meeting.
Arsenal continued their dominance not just in England but also in Europe as 2007 saw the Gunners win the quadruple.
In 2014, against the Gunners, where all the odds were stacked against them, they shocked the dominant Arsenal. The fixture looked set to end in a draw, but Ji So-yun won it in the 89th minute.
But in 2015, everything changed as Chelsea kept building, signed former Arsenal players, and flipped the script with Emma Hayes in charge of her connections as assistant manager during Arsenal's unbeaten 2007 season. She had the connection to bring over the likes of Karen Carey and Katie Chapman to the blues. But also new talent in Fran Kirby, who became a club legend.
A 2-0 win and a goalless draw followed in Chelsea’s title-winning season of 2015, and, with the blink of an eye, this London derby became one of the most fiercely contested rivalries in the FA WSL.
The balance shifted once a one-sided fixture became more balanced.
This was only the beginning of a fixture, and players all decided in 90 minutes on the pitch.
A fixture for the biggest of stages
This is a game that draws in the audience and fans, with record crowds continuing to grow. In December 2023, Arsenal defeated Chelsea 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium in front of a then-Women’s Super League record crowd of 59,042. Renee Sleger confirmed in a pre-match press conference that 57,000 tickets were sold.
The Turning Point That Made Arsenal v Chelsea the WSL’s Defining Rivalry
Arsenal once beat Chelsea 6–0 in their 2007 unbeaten season. Today? They’ve only won two of the last six.
This derby is unmatched and runs on chaos; it can be decided by the smallest of margins; it can be unpredictable, dramatic and intense.
The most significant moments in the derby's history
March 15th 2024, saw the most iconic and comedic moment in this fixture. Sockgate. Arsenal visited Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but bought the same colour socks as the home side. This caused a 30-minute delay in the game. Arsenal had to go to the Chelsea megastore. The good thing was at Stamford Bridge. They popped into the shops and bought some black socks. But the funniest part is yet to come: they had to put black tape over the Nike logo because their sponsor is Adidas. This likely affected Arsenal's psyche as they lost 3-1 to the home side.
The Arsenal manager said: “I only knew it was a clash of colours with the kits and it needed to be resolved. Why that was, I have no idea… We had to deal with a mental and physical perspective on how we can warm up again.”
Emma Hayes spoke on: “I’m gutted for their kitman … If we’d have had a change of socks I’d have put them on for us… It didn’t derail us whatsoever.”
Just 15 days later, Arsenal got their revenge in the League Cup final, which saw more drama than ever before, and most of it came off the pitch. Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 via a 116th-minute goal by Stina Blackstenius.
But the drama happened on the sidelines in a post-match altercation between Emma Hayes and Jona Eidevall. The Chelsea manager accused the Arsenal manager of “I’m not down for male aggression on the touchline… he received a yellow card but perhaps should have been sent off.”
Eidevall denied aggression only towards Erin Cuthbert, the Chelsea midfielder, over the disagreement over the ball system.
Last season's drama at Stamford Bridge saw Katie McCabe receive her second yellow card for descending towards the ref after Kim Little gave away a penalty for a foul on Lauren James in the box. Guro Reiten converted from the spot to win it for the Blues 1-0. The match had title‑race implications: Chelsea confirmed their dominance, and Arsenal lost a serious advantage in the title race.
Big fixtures like this showcase what women’s football can be: record crowds, high stakes, and global interest, which further elevate the league.
This fixture is not just competitive but symbolic: it embodies local derby, national ambition, and global broadcast.
The emotion, incidents, attendance records, and historical shifts make each match instance a brand event and a key competitive date.
For the 2025‑26 season, the result of Arsenal vs Chelsea signals which club will run the league, redefining dominance and capturing the hearts of a growing women’s football fan base.
Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea manager, said: “I mean, the atmosphere is excellent. The chance to play in this stadium, to face a prominent opponent, and, yeah, to have the opportunity to play these big games with a lot of fans in the stands is why we come in every day to work. I'm talking about work, but the game tomorrow will be only about having fun and patience.
Just the fact that we have the opportunity to go into that game and to have fun on the pitch is the most important thing. So we are looking for what, for that, and yeah, we are pleased to play that game.”
When Renee Sleger was asked, this was the most prominent fixture in women’s football, and if any other fixture could compete without it: “Maybe not, this could be one of the big ones in Europe in women’s football.”
Erin Cuthbert (Chelsea midfielder): “It’s no surprise that I love these types of games. I love the atmosphere. I love football rivalry, and I think that should never go away. I think Chelsea-Arsenal is huge, especially in the women’s game, and it’s something that players relish. But the other part of me, the more rational part, is telling me it is just another three points. You can’t overthink it. Don’t make it bigger than what it is.”
Leah Williamson (Arsenal) said: “[The rivalry] has proved a fierce one… The dynamic hasn’t necessarily changed, it’s just the people.”
It’s never just another match. It’s Arsenal v Chelsea, the one that decides everything.
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