| Season: | 2008-09 |
| Manager: | Vic Akers |
| League: | Premier League |
| League Result: | Champions |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Winners |
| Cup2: | Premier League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Winners |
| Cup3: | UEFA Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Quarter-finals |
| Cup4: | Community Shield |
| Cup4 Result: | Winners |
| Cup5: | London County Cup |
| Cup5 Result: | Winners |
| Stadium: | Meadow Park |
| Club: | Arsenal Ladies |
| Prevseason: | 2007–08 |
| Nextseason: | 2009–10 |
The 2008-09 season was Arsenal Ladies Football Club's 22nd season since forming in 1987. The club participated in the National Division of the FA Women's Premier League, winning the title for a 6th consecutive season, this time on goal difference, defeating second-placed Everton on the final day at Widnes.[1] However, they saw their five-year, 108-match unbeaten league run come to an end, after losing 3-0 at home to Everton.[2] They completed a domestic treble by winning Premier League Cup and FA Women's Cup, defeating Doncaster Rovers Belles and Sunderland in the Finals respectively.[3] [4] They also competed in the UEFA Women's Cup, but lost at the Quarter-final stage to Umeå, the side they had defeated in the Final two seasons ago.[5]
This was Arsenal's final season under the management of Vic Akers, who stood down at the end of the season to take up the position of general manager at the club. He ended his time the club having won 32 major honours, including the UEFA Cup, making him the most successful Arsenal Manager of all time.[6]
Squad statistics correct as of May 2018[7]
| --width:90%;-->" | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squad No. | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Since | Signed From | |
| Goalkeepers | |||||
| 1 |  Emma Byrne | 14 June 1979 | 2000 | Fortuna Hjørring | |
| 13 |  Rebecca Spencer | 22 February 1991 | 2006 | Homegrown | |
| 24 | Sarah Quantrill | 21 July 1990 | Homegrown | ||
| Defenders | |||||
| 2 | Alex Scott | 14 October 1984 | 2005 | Birmingham City | |
| 3 | Yvonne Tracy | 27 February 1981 | 2000 | St Patrick's Athletic | |
| 6 | Faye White (captain) | 2 February 1978 | 1996 | Horsham Ladies | |
| 5 | Gilly Flaherty | 24 August 1991 | 2003 | Millwall Lionesses | |
| 15 | Laura Bassett | 2 August 1983 | 2008 | Birmingham City | |
| 19 | Niamh Fahey | 13 October 1987 | 2008 | Salthill Devon | |
| 21 |  Eartha Pond | 4 September 1983 | 2008 | Leeds United | |
| 27 | Seana Cooke | 6 July 1989 | Homegrown | ||
| Midfielders | |||||
| 4 | Jayne Ludlow | 7 January 1979 | 2000 | Southampton Saints | |
| 7 | Ciara Grant | 17 May 1978 | 1998 | St Patrick's Athletic | |
| 8 | Kelly Smith | 29 October 1978 | 2005 |  New Jersey Wildcats | |
| 16 | Kim Little | 26 September 1990 | 2008 | Hibernian | |
| 17 | Katie Chapman | 15 June 1982 | 2006 | Charlton Athletic | |
| 18 | Natalie Ross | 14 September 1989 | 2008 | Hibernian | |
| 22 | Laura Coombs | 29 January 1991 | 2007 | Homegrown | |
| 23 | Abbie Prosser | 4 September 1991 | Homegrown | ||
| Forwards | |||||
| 9 | Suzanne Grant | 17 April 1984 | 2009 | Hibernian | |
| 10 | Julie Fleeting | 18 December 1980 | 2004 | Ross County | |
| 11 | Rachel Yankey | 1 November 1979 | 2005 | New Jersey Wildcats | |
| 12 | Gemma Davison | 17 April 1987 | 2001 | Watford | |
| 14 | Karen Carney | 1 August 1987 | 2006 | Birmingham City | |
| 20 | Helen Lander | 26 April 1986 | 2009 | Watford | |
| 25 | Lauren Bruton | 22 November 1992 | 2008 | Homegrown | |
| No. | Name | UEFA Cup | Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | Goals | Goals | Goals | Goals | ||||||||
| Goalkeepers | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Emma Byrne | 19 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 33+3 | 0 | |
| 13 | Rebecca Spencer | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | |
| 24 | Sarah Quantrill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Defenders | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Alex Scott | 12+1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4+1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 22+2 | 3 | |
| 3 | Yvonne Tracy | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 2 | |
| 6 | Faye White (captain) | 5 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 12+2 | 1 | |
| 5 | Gilly Flaherty | 16 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 20+3 | 2 | |
| 15 | Laura Bassett | 19+1 | 0 | 4+1 | 1 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27+3 | 1 | |
| 19 | Niamh Fahey | 15+3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 29+3 | 2 | |
| 21 | Eartha Pond | 2+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+6 | 0 | |
| 27 | Seana Cooke | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Midfielders | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Jayne Ludlow | 20+1 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4+1 | 1 | 4+1 | 3 | 33+3 | 13 | |
| 7 | Ciara Grant | 17 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 28+1 | 2 | |
| 8 | Kelly Smith | 12 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 30 | |
| 16 | Kim Little | 20+1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4+1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 34+2 | 24 | |
| 17 | Katie Chapman | 16+4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 31+5 | 9 | |
| 18 | Natalie Ross | 2+3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 3+6 | 0 | |
| 22 | Laura Coombs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | |
| 23 | Abbie Prosser | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | |
| Forwards | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Suzanne Grant | 3+5 | 3 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4+7 | 4 | |
| 10 | Julie Fleeting | 5+2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2+2 | 2 | 10+4 | 14 | |
| 11 | Rachel Yankey | 10+7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3+1 | 4 | 0+4 | 0 | 18+12 | 9 | |
| 12 | Gemma Davison | 19+3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 4+1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 33+4 | 10 | |
| 14 | Karen Carney | 13 | 8 | 0+1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 20+1 | 12 | |
| 20 | Helen Lander | 6+4 | 1 | 3+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9+5 | 4 | |
| 25 | Lauren Bruton | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | |
| --width:90%;-->" | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Position | Name | Total | ||||||
| 1 | 8 | MF | Kelly Smith | 25 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 30 | |
| 2 | 16 | MF | Kim Little | 10 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 24 | |
| 3 | 10 | FW | Julie Fleeting | 7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 14 | |
| 4 | 4 | MF | Jayne Ludlow | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | |
| 5 | 14 | FW | Karen Carney | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | |
| 6 | 12 | FW | Gemma Davison | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| 7 | 17 | MF | Katie Chapman | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| 11 | FW | Rachel Yankey | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 8 | 9 | FW | Suzanne Grant | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 20 | FW | Helen Lander | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 9 | 2 | DF | Alex Scott | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 10 | 3 | DF | Yvonne Tracy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 5 | DF | Gilly Flaherty | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 19 | DF | Niamh Fahey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 7 | MF | Ciara Grant | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 11 | 6 | DF | Faye White (captain) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 15 | DF | Laura Bassett | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total | 85 | 18 | 23 | 16 | 142 | ||||
| No. | Position | Player | From club | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 August 2008[8] | 15 | DF | Laura Bassett | Birmingham City | |
| 28 July 2008[9] | 19 | DF | Niamh Fahey | Salthill Devon | |
| 28 July 2008[10] | 18 | MF | Natalie Ross | Hibernian | |
| 1 August 2008[11] | 21 | DF | Eartha Pond | Leeds United | |
| 3 January 2009[12] | 20 | FW | Helen Lander | Watford | |
| 20 February 2009[13] | 9 | FW | Suzanne Grant | Hibernian |
| No. | Position | Player | To club | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 July 2008[14] | 18 | DF | Anita Asante | Chelsea | |
| 3 July 2008 | 9 | FW | Lianne Sanderson | Chelsea | |
| 2008 | 23 | DF | Mary Phillip | Chelsea | |
| 2008 | FW | Sarah Wiltshire | Watford | ||
| 2008 | DF | Felicienne Minaar | FC Twente | ||
| 6 February 2009[15] | 2 | DF | Alex Scott | Boston Breakers | |
| 18 February 2009[16] [17] | 8 | MF | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | |
| 28 January 2009[18] | 14 | FW | Karen Carney | Chicago Red Stars |
See main article: 2008–09 FA Women's Premier League.
See main article: 2008–09 FA Women's Premier League Cup.
See main article: 2008–09 UEFA Women's Cup.