Arsenal Ladies FC 2007-08 Season

National Premier League: Champions
League Cup: Runners Up; lost 1-0 to Everton
FA Cup: Winners; beat Leeds United 4-1
UEFA Cup: Quarter Finals; lost 3-2 on aggregate to Lyon.

Highlight:
4-1 victory over Leeds in the FA Cup final.

Low Spot:
3-2 home defeat against Lyon in the UEFA Cup.

Good:
Karen Carney
Carney blossomed in her second season with The Gunners and her combination with Alex Scott down the right hand side became a real feature of Arsenal‘s play. A consistent provider she contributed her fair share of goals and can now hopefully take that onto the next level with England.
Kelly Smith
It’s easy to take Smith’s contribution for granted but she continues to deserve all the plaudits that come her way. England’s greatest player.

In Brief:
This was not a wholly satisfactory season for Arsenal. They retained two of the four trophies they swept clean last season but surrendered both the League and UEFA Cups.
Several teams gave them scares in the league as well before both Everton, their League Cup conquerors, and Leeds held them to draws late on in the campaign. Arsenal were never in danger of losing their championship crown but the gap between them and the rest appears to have narrowed.
The fact that a gap still exists was amply demonstrated in the FA Cup final, however, when Arsenal put Leeds to the sword with an exhilarating display.
Still the team to beat.

Arsenal Ladies FC was formed in 1987 by Vic Akers.

Akers, the present day General Manager of the Arsenal Ladies FC and the first team kit man, had only joined the club in 1986 as the Head of Community Development.

From the beginning Arsenal Ladies enjoyed excellent support from Arsenal Football Club and are currently the countries foremost womens team, due largely to this continued financial backing.

Arsenal Ladies' first significant honour was the Highfield Cup in 1991 and by the time the first National Premier League was contested the club had become the games' dominant force.

Arsenal Ladies not only won the Premier League in its' first year, 1993, they recorded a domestic treble by adding the Premier League Cup and the FA Womens Cup.

This was the clubs first appearance in the FA Cup final and resulted in an emphatic 3-0 success over Doncaster Belles.

Since then the club has chalked up a catalogue of success.

They have won the Premier League on seven occassions
(1993,95,97,2001,02,04 and 05)
The FA Cup six times (1993,95,98,99,2001 and 04)
The League Cup seven times (1993,94,98,99,2000,01 and 05).

Arsenal Ladies FC have never lost an FA Cup final and on their last appearance in 2004 ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over Charlton Athletic Ladies thanks to a hat trick from their outstanding Scottish international, Julie Fleeting.

In 2003 they lost their only major cup final, going down to the then professional Fulham Ladies on penalties in the League Cup.

Today Arsenal Ladies are in a position to dominate the game to an even greater degree because of their strong financial position.All aspects of the club are run thoroughly professionally.

The club moved to a semi professional basis in 2002 and employ several members of staff on a full time basis.

Clare Wheating is one of these, in charge of the Development of Womens Football, and is assisted in this role by first team players, Ciara Grant and Faye White.Other senior players are also involved in the clubs' academy programme and they also run popular soccer schools for girls.

Not surprisingly Arsenal Ladies' youth teams dominate the various competitions across the south east in which they take part.

On the playing front Arsenal Ladies boast an impressive array of talent including Faye White, the England captain, Kelly Smith, recognised as one of the worlds' leading players and a former professional in the United States, Rachel Yankey, England's exciting winger as well as the top Scottish striker, Julie Fleeting.

Both White and Smith boast their own personal websites and the coverage of the Ladies team on the official Arsenal Football Club website is excellent.

One challenge left for the team, who play their home games at Borehamwood, is in Europe.