The fortunes of Arsenal's senior squad ebb and flow – a team rich in style though often short on the substance of silverware – but their women have become the model of consistency.

The winners of four competitions in 2007 and both the Premier League and FA Cup last season, Arsenal Ladies represent a benchmark of excellence which is routinely beyond the reach of their male club colleagues and their female opponents.

The target of claiming the Women's Premier League title is now a case of finishing above the Gunners.

Every year, Arsenal Ladies begin the league campaign believing their name is on the championship trophy; every year, it seems to be so.
Last season, the club dropped only four points and won 91 per cent of their league games.

Their players averaged almost four goals from each fixture. It is that unwavering dominance which Leeds United Ladies have asked Carla Cantrell to help crack, and that dominance which the striker believes to be breakable.

The disparity between the clubs was evident in the 22-point margin that separated them in the Premier League last season. Yet the hope that Leeds, like Everton, might be positively addressing the unhealthy gulf was strengthened by the second half of the campaign.

Everton finished second in the league and won the Premier League Cup.

United finished third and reached the FA Cup final, where they succumbed to Arsenal's remarkable stamina. More encouraging still for Cantrell was the 1-1 draw produced by Leeds against the London club on the last day of the season, one of only two league matches from which Arsenal failed to take maximum points.

"The gap is definitely closing," says Cantrell. "Leeds United are helping to close it, and Everton are doing their bit as well. In a few years time, I'd expect Leeds to be closer again. It will take a little bit of patience.

"Arsenal are a very strong side and they've dominated the women's game for a while, but I wouldn't say they're untouchable.

"Leeds pushed them hard in the FA Cup final and drew at their ground on the last day of the season. We can't be that far away.

"If you let yourself think that a team is unbeatable then you'll never get anywhere near them, but this club seems to be going places and seems to think that it's getting closer to the top. That's the impression I get."

United's squad produced around half the number of goals scored by Arsenal's last season, and it did not take serious consideration for their manager, Rick Passmoor, to realise that additions to his strikeforce would be welcome and necessary this summer.

Cantrell was signed from Doncaster Rovers Belles last week, and Ellen White arrived from Chelsea on Monday. Both strikers hold England caps at junior level and, at a stroke, the signings have provided Passmoor with the strength of squad required to encourage the club's progression next season. Passmoor predicted that Cantrell would become an "instant hit" with United's players and supporters.

The 20-year-old student is 12 months away from completing a degree in physical education at Leeds Metropolitan University, and the final year of her course will be funded by the Leeds United Ladies scholarship scheme which was recently implemented by the organisation.

The scholarship provides Cantrell with access to the university's coaching and fitness facilities and will help to maintain the development which has taken her from Doncaster Parklands to a prominent Women's Premier League club and England honours in the space of three years.

"I'm lucky to get the help I do from the university, and I love my studies," she says.

"You get all the support you could ask for and it's definitely helped me improve as a player.

"When I start thinking about what I'd like to do after I graduate, that's when I hit a sticky patch because I'm not entirely sure. I could become a PE teacher or maybe get involved with the fitness and conditioning side of a professional football club.

"I do love the sport. At the moment I'm doing a bit of coaching work with Leeds United's Football in the Community team and I'm really enjoying it.

"I've always enjoyed playing football, but I do think the women's game needs a lot more backing, both financially and in the amount of media exposure it gets.

"Until that happens, it's difficult to see the game developing as fast as we'd all like.

"But Leeds are one of the clubs who are making progress and the time was right for me to make a move. I'll miss Doncaster, because I've had a couple of great years there, but this is a fresh challenge and it's a chance for me to challenge for trophies and hopefully play in a cup final. I feel like I'm due one."

United's success last season was a reassuring step forward for a club whose position and future has been questionable since financial support afforded to them by Leeds United Football Club was withdrawn by Elland Road chairman Ken Bates in 2005.

Other clubs have experienced turbulence of their own, and Charlton Athletic's ladies were threatened with closure last year before a timely sponsorship agreement kept the club afloat. But the popularity of the women's game was aptly displayed by the crowd of 24,582 who attended the 2008 FA Cup final between Leeds and Arsenal.

UEFA's support of and enthusiasm for ladies' football will see Euro 2009 staged in Finland next year, a tournament which England are on the verge of qualifying for and which Cantrell could conceivably appear in.
The striker has represented her national team at under-23 level, and may have a more realistic opportunity of winning the favour of England coach Hope Powell in the colours of a successful Leeds United Ladies team.

"I was a late-comer to the England set-up because I didn't step into the Premier League until a couple of years ago," says Cantrell. "So I don't know how much chance I've got of playing in Euro 2009.

"I suppose you never know, and it would be an amazing experience if it was to happen, but I haven't really thought about it. The main thing in my head at the moment is the fact that I have to score goals for Leeds. That's why they've signed me.

"The club finished third last season which means finishing first or second will be a sign of progress next year. It takes time to catch up with a team like Arsenal but it's not impossible to get there. They're definitely the team we should be aiming to beat."