Key Takeaways
- Kelly has begun only nine of 25 Arsenal matches this season after a four-month knee lay-off.
- Data show 87 % of her Gunners goals come when she starts, but coach Renée Slegers often prefers Stina Blackstenius off the bench.
- With Lauren Hemp, Beth Mead and new signing Olivia Smith also in form, Kelly faces the biggest selection battle of her career.
Chloe Kelly’s shirt-twirling celebration is now part of English football history. Her extra-time strike won the 2022 Euro final and her cool penalty sealed the 2025 trophy. Even so, the 28-year-old is no longer an automatic pick for club or country.
Kelly left Manchester City in January 2025 after starting only one league match all season. Arsenal gave her new hope: she opened nine of the last 14 games and helped the side lift the Champions League trophy against Barcelona.
Yet the current campaign has been stop-start. A knee injury sidelined her from September to January, and she has completed ninety minutes just three times in the Women’s Super League. Although she hit a hat-trick versus West Ham and scored in the quarter-final first leg against Chelsea, she was back on the bench for the return fixture.
Impact numbers explain coach Renée Slegers’ thinking. In 14 substitute appearances Kelly has one goal and two assists. Fellow striker Stina Blackstenius has six goals from 24 bench cameos since early 2025 and grabbed the winner in last season’s European final. When Arsenal need a late spark, the Swedish forward is first choice.
For England the picture is different. Kelly has five goals as a substitute since mid-2022, including her decisive interventions in the last two major finals. Forty of her 58 caps in that period have come from the bench, more than any Lionesses teammate.
Former England record scorer Ellen White believes the competition for attacking places is simply fierce. “We might have the best front line in the world,” White says. “Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Beth Mead, Jess Park and Chloe Kelly are all world class.”
At Arsenal the battle is equally intense. Alessia Russo has 26 goals in WSL and Champions League since Kelly arrived, while experienced winger Mead offers more duels and pressing on the right. On the opposite flank 21-year-old Olivia Smith, signed for close to £1 million, has started two-thirds of 2025-26 matches.
Former Gunners defender Jen Beattie says Kelly must stay patient. “No one wants to be just an impact player, but with this squad nothing is guaranteed,” Beattie notes. “She’ll keep pushing because everyone knows her quality.”
Kelly could still finish the season with a second straight Champions League medal when Arsenal meet Lyon in the semi-finals. Whether that will be enough to satisfy a player in her prime remains to be seen. A summer move for more starts is not out of the question as the 2026 World Cup in Brazil looms.