Chloe Kelly found 2025-26 hard, but is optimistic about hers and Arsenal's prospects this season.

Chloe Kelly scored five goals in 2025-26, including a hat-trick against West Ham in March Chloe Kelly has plenty to keep her busy - but the conviction she shows on the pitch and in front of the camera has belied trickier times behind the scenes. Her arrival at Arsenal in January 2025 ended a difficult spell at Manchester City, where she felt compelled to go public about wanting to leave. Handed a way out by the club she represented as a junior, she says she was not sure what to expect when signing for Renee Slegers' side. On a summer day at the Gunners' training ground - decked in the red-and-white kit she first wore at the age of 12 - the England forward tells BBC Sport how she felt returning to Arsenal. "A bit of a fear of the unknown. I reflect on [the end of her City spell] as a dark moment but one of learning about myself," she says. Eighteen months on, and now a Champions League and Champions Cup winner, she has made her mark at Arsenal. Whether in the topless shirt-twirling after scoring in the Euro 2022 final for England, or in the shrug of the shoulders after netting against Italy in the 2025 semi-finals, Kelly exudes self-assurance - but insists that is not always so.