That extra time on the pitch has arguably taken its toll, with the players looking jaded in the 1-1 draw at Brighton last week – four days after their European title defence came to a crushing end in Lyon.<\/p>\n
Those dropped points against the Seagulls left Arsenal unable to catch City, who won the title for the first time since 2016.<\/p>\n
With fixtures pushed back because of their Champions League and Champions Cup commitments, Arsenal’s schedule has been condensed at the end of the season.<\/p>\n
The Gunners have played six games in the past 18 days. In that same period, City have played two.<\/p>\n
“Too many games were postponed to this part of the season,” former Scotland and Arsenal defender Jen Beattie told the Women’s Football Weekly podcast.<\/p>\n
“It’s the hardest part, so you don’t want your biggest accumulation of games to come at this point in the season.”<\/p>\n
With the season effectively over for Arsenal, the club’s transfer plans are already well under way before what promises to be a busy summer, perhaps to address some of their shortcomings.<\/p>\n