Above: Leah Williamson.
By Rachel Gore (12/04/2024)
A teenage Leah Williamson came onto the pitch as a substitute for Yankey in the 81st minute of Arsenal’s 2014 2-0 defeat to Birmingham City.
Only one day after her 17th birthday Williamson had made her senior debut at her childhood club, the club that she’d grown up supporting and playing for.
This appearance was only the beginning for Williamson; that year she went on to become a club regular, making 25 appearances, and now she has stepped onto the pitch in an Arsenal shirt well over 200 times.
On March 30, 2024, Arsenal uploaded a post on Instagram that pictured Williamson on the grass this season opposite an image of her 17-year-old self, playing in a number 14 shirt on her senior debut.
The last 10 years have been filled with achievements for Williamson, and it was that UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter final match that began her senior career.
In 2014, on Williamson’s first senior season, she was a part of the Arsenal squad that won the FA Women’s Cup. This was Williamson’s first taste of victory in professional football and only 12 days later she scored her first professional goal against Millwall Lionesses in the League Cup.
At the end of this 2013/2014 season, Williamson was named the League Cup Player of the Year. This individual accolade was followed closely by further recognition, in 2015 the player received the England Women’s Youth Player of the Year Award.
Williamson’s star quality on the pitch was being recognised, and under a week after her 18th birthday she signed her first professional contract with Arsenal.
Before claiming victory in the League Cup with Arsenal in 2015 and winning the FA cup in 2016, Williamson was named the 2015 PFA Young Player of the Year, an award that has since been received by Lauren Hemp, Beth Mead, Georgia Stanway, and many more talented ballers.
It was in the 2017/2018 season that Williamson moved from being a midfielder to playing in central defence. This switch came with the arrival of new Arsenal manager Joe Montemurro. It was this football season that saw Arsenal beat defending champions, Manchester City, to victory in the FA WSL Cup.
Williamson spent the 2018/2019 season confirming her position in defence, leading her to be voted as a member of the 2019/2020 PFA Team of the Year.
In 2017, the Arsenal player trained with the Senior Lionesses for the first time and in 2018 she made her senior England debut.
Now, when the England women’s team is mentioned, many picture Leah Williamson, the player who captained the English side to victory at the 2022 Women’s European Championships.
Meanwhile, Williamson remains the vice-captain of Arsenal, she is one of few international captains to not captain their domestic club.
Heartbreak came for Leah in 2023 when it was confirmed that she had suffered an ACL injury which meant that she would miss out on the 2023 World Cup, where she would have most likely been the captain of the Lionesses as they travelled to Australia.
After months of rehab, and time spent supporting Arsenal and England from the sidelines, Williamson made her first appearance since her ACL injury on January 21, 2024, against Reading in the Conti Cup.
Her comeback game highlighted what a talented player she is. Williamson’s play was fluid, it was as if she had spent no time off the pitch. She assisted a Beth Mead goal to confirm Arsenal’s victory – this was a full circle moment as both Mead and Williamson had gone through recovery together after suffering ACL injuries months apart from each other.
Since, the defender has suffered further minor injuries which led her to withdraw from England’s February camp that she had received a call up for. Now, however, her time has come; Williamson is back on camp with the Lionesses and fans are hopeful that she will make her return to international football at Wembley Stadium when England play Sweden on Friday April 5.
Over the last 10 years, Williamson has made her mark on domestic and international football. The defender has won numerous trophies with Arsenal and has led the Lionesses to their history making victory.
Looking back on the last 10 years not only highlights Williamson’s achievements, but also emphasises the opportunities that the player has had through Arsenal. Williamson moved through the ranks of Arsenal’s Centre of Excellence, which she signed to at just 9 years old, and is now a crucial part of their senior squad. Fans can only hope that she will remain at the club for many years to come.
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