Arsenal without Mead & Catley for UWCL semi-final

Steph Catley Beth Mead Arsenal Women split

Arsenal will be without Beth Mead and Steph Catley for the first leg of their Women's Champions League semi-final against Lyon this weekend, with the latter's absence placing further focus on the fitness of the recently returned Leah Williamson. The England captain played her first minutes in over a month while on international duty last week, the timing of which could be potentially vital for the Gunners' European title defence.

Arsenal's centre-back depth to be tested with Catley sidelined

Catley limped off with a calf issue in the second leg of Arsenal's Champions League quarter-final win over Chelsea earlier this month, one which forced her to withdraw from international duty with Australia. That extended time to recover has not allowed the defender to be ready for the first leg of Arsenal's UWCL semi-final, though, with Gunners boss Renee Slegers confirming as much in her pre-match press conference on Friday. "Hopefully we'll see her later in [this] block [of fixtures]," she added.

Leah Williamson Arsenal Women 2025-26

Catley absence puts Williamson's fitness under microscope

It's a big blow for Arsenal as Catley has been extremely solid all season long, but also because the Gunners are already a little light at centre-back. Katie Reid, the teenager who was a revelation at the start of the campaign, has been sidelined for several months with an ACL injury and Leah Williamson has missed a lot of time this season, too, due to various ailments.

Williamson's latest setback was a hamstring issue sustained last month, one which ruled her out of both legs of the UWCL quarter-final victory over Chelsea. Despite that, the England captain was still chosen by Sarina Wiegman for the Lionesses' latest camp and she was able to get back on the pitch in their second fixture of that international break, playing the first half of the narrow win over Iceland.

Speaking after the game about Williamson's return, Wiegman said: "As we said throughout the whole campaign here, we want to be careful with her. She was in a very good place. If it was absolutely needed, she could play more, but we didn't want to take any risk. She's in good shape. Everything is healthy."

How many minutes the defender might have in her for Sunday's game remains to be seen, with Slegers to potentially have to look at alternative options if she cannot play the whole match. Left-back Katie McCabe has played some minutes more centrally lately, seemingly preferred ahead of natural centre-back Laia Codina whose form has been up and down.

Mead missing due to 'personal reasons'

Arsenal will also be without Mead for Sunday's game, as the England international has been absent this week due to what Slegers described as "personal reasons". To lose a player of her quality and experience is another blow but it at least comes in a position the Gunners have a little more depth in.

Olivia Smith, who Arsenal made the first million-pound player in the women's game last summer, has been having an excellent first season in north London, while Chloe Kelly has enjoyed some good form as of late and has previous in the Champions League after emerging as a decisive figure in the latter stages of the Gunners' title win last year. Caitlin Foord, who scored in Lyon when Arsenal met the French giants in last season's semi-finals, is another option for Slegers.

Renee Slegers Arsenal Women 2025-26

Seven games in 21 days: Arsenal's big end to the season

Whether Catley or Mead will be back for the second leg of this Champions League semi-final is unclear. Slegers was optimistic about welcoming Catley back soon, with her recovery seemingly going well, but Mead's situation is understandably more difficult to gauge as the club gives her the time she needs.

Arsenal have a lot of games to get through between now and the end of the season, as they have two games in hand over the rest of the top five in the Women's Super League, too. It means the Gunners are playing essentially every three or four days until the final day of the WSL campaign, a schedule for which they would love as fully-fit a squad as possible as they look to defend their Champions League crown and finish as high as they can in the league standings.