Arsenal Women could break their own record for the highest attendance at a Barclays Women’s Super League game on Sunday, with over 50,000 tickets sold for their opening league game against Liverpool at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners sold out the 60,000 capacity venue for the first time last season, with Arsenal’s UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Wolfsburg attracting a full house in N5.

Arsenal set the record for the highest WSL attendance in September 2022, when 47,367 supporters watched Jonas Eidevall’s side beat North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates, and this record is set to be broken as Arsenal kick off a new league season against Liverpool.

After beginning their 2023/24 season in Sweden with a gut-wrenching Champions League exit in Round One of qualifying, Arsenal headed to Germany for a training camp at Adidas HQ before their one pre-season friendly, taking on Chelsea behind closed doors.

Liverpool on the other hand have played some of Europe’s top sides in pre-season, coming up against Manchester City and United, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid in the gap between the World Cup and start of the WSL season.

Manager Matt Beard signed a new contract in the summer after Liverpool finished seventh in the WSL on their return to the top flight. Beard wrote in a recent column that Liverpool’s 5-3-2 formation worked particularly well in the back end of the 2022/23 campaign, but he feels that his side might return to a 4-3-3 shape once the likes of Shanice van der Sanden return from injury.

Liverpool will be without goalkeeper Faye Kirby and Zara Shaw for the entire season due to ACL injuries, whilst Leanne Kiernan, Niamh Fahey and Mel Lawley will all miss the Arsenal game. Norwegian summer signing Sophie Roman Haug will be assessed after picking up a nose injury on international duty.

It has been a busy summer transfer window for Arsenal, with the deadline day arrival of Australian midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross adding to the signings of Cloe Lacasse, Amanda Ilestedt, Alessia Russo and Laia Codina. New contracts have also been signed by Kim Little, Lia Walti, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Jen Beattie and most recently Katie McCabe, as well as first senior deals for a trio of academy players.

With four Arsenal players at different stages of their recovery from ACL injuries, forward Beth Mead is the closest to returning to action. Mead travelled to Sweden earlier this month but played no part in Arsenal’s games against Linkoping and Paris FC, but “may” feature on Sunday in the words of Jonas Eidevall. 

Vivianne Miedema is set to play some games with Arsenal’s academy as she continues her rehabilitation, whilst Laura Wienroither and Leah Williamson will remain sidelined.

Lina Hurtig and Noelle Maritz both picked up knocks on international duty, but neither have been ruled out for Sunday’s match. All of Arsenal’s new signings can make their WSL debuts for the Gunners at the Emirates.

With games involving Manchester United and Chelsea selected by the television broadcasters this weekend, Arsenal versus Liverpool will be shown on the FA Player in the UK, where fans can make an account to watch for free. Kick-off is set for 2:00pm.

Arsenal’s early Champions League exit means that the Gunners will play no European football for the first time since 2018/19. Arsenal won the WSL that season, and will hope that a strong transfer window as well as the return of multiple players from injury over the course of this campaign will steer the Gunners back to league glory.

Jonas Eidevall won his first trophy as Arsenal head coach in the form of the Conti Cup last season, but in a make or break third season for the Swede, Arsenal must go toe to toe with the WSL’s elite if they can get their hands on silverware again. 

The Gunners failed to beat Chelsea, lost twice to Manchester United and were beaten away to Manchester City last season, and cannot afford to make the same mistakes against their title rivals. The likes of Liverpool are proof that this division is only getting stronger, and it’s worth remembering the upset that Matt Beard’s side caused on the opening day of last season, dispatching Chelsea by two goals to one.

Women’s Super League football returns, and the Emirates will come alive again. We will have a live blog, player ratings and post match reaction from Jonas Eidevall all to come on Sunday right here on the Gooner Fanzine website.