Here to Stay: Leah Williamson’s Arsenal Career So Far

This week brought exciting news for Gooners as Arsenal announced that centre-back and vice-captain Leah Williamson had put pen to paper on a new contract.

The 27-year old has become a key player and figure at Arsenal, both on and off the pitch, winning 1 WSL title, 2 FA Cups and 4 League Cups at the club, making 232 appearances and scoring 15 goals. 

Following this week’s announcement, here is a look back at Leah’s Arsenal career so far.  

Growing up in the Arsenal Academy

Born in Milton Keynes, Leah’s football career began when she was six years old and she played for a boys’ team in Bletchley called Scot Youth. 

Speaking about this experience, for her FA profile, Leah recalled, “I was the only girl in the team and I used to get abuse from the sidelines every week.”  

After overcoming a season of challenges, Leah played at Rushden & Diamonds Centre of Excellence, before moving to Arsenal’s Centre of Excellence.  She joined in 2006, at the age of 9, the same year that the Emirates Stadium was built.  

When talking about her early memories of Arsenal, after signing her new contract, Leah talked about playing her first-ever trial at Highbury, saying “that meant a lot to me that I had that experience as well, and trained at the JVC Centre before I was even an Arsenal player.” 

Eight years later, Leah made her senior debut for Arsenal, when she came on as a 81st-minute substitute for Rachel Yankey in a 2-0 defeat to Birmingham City. 

Playing with Rachel Yankey, as well as many of her other heroes in the Arsenal team, was her dream, and Leah even said that she wanted to make sure she made it in time to play with her idols before they left or retired, in her interview with Rachel Yankey following her 200th Arsenal appearance in December 2022. 

In that season Leah became a first-team regular and made 25 appearances in all competitions, cementing her position as a crucial player for Arsenal.  

Childhood dreams come true

Leah continued to go from strength to strength and made her WSL debut on April 16, 2014 against Notts County.  It was only a few months later when she claimed her first major trophy with Arsenal, winning the FA Women’s Cup. 

At this point in her career, she was still playing in midfield and came on in the 76th minute for Jade Bailey as Arsenal beat Everton 2-0.  At the end of the 2014 season, Leah signed her first professional contract, at the age of 18.  Shortly after, she was also named the 2014/15 PFA Young Women’s Player of the Year.  She had also been named the League Cup Player of the Year in the previous season.  

The arrival of Joe Montemurro as the Head Coach in 2017 was a significant moment in Leah’s career, as she began to play as a centre-back more frequently. 

During the 2018-19 season, she played a key role in defence, as Arsenal went on to win the WSL for the first time in seven years.  This was also the season when she surpassed the milestone of 100 appearances for Arsenal at the young age of 21. 

She has since become a player who is arguably best known for her passing accuracy and her range of passes- a skill that was evident as soon as she returned from her ACL injury, when she assisted Beth Mead with a perfectly-placed pass.  

Speaking on her best memories over these Arsenal years after renewing her latest contract, Leah described one of her favourites as, “the win against Chelsea at the start a couple of seasons ago at the Emirates here. 

"It was a big crowd, a sunny day, and it had been a really tough time for my family, and to be able to come here, and just feel like Arsenal has been at the centre of everything. 

"We dedicate so much of our lives to it, but it ends up being there through it all as well.”

In these years Leah also made herself a key figure in the England team, making her debut in 2018 and going on to captain the side in the Euros 2022 tournament. 

She wrote her name into the history books when she became the first female footballer to lift a major trophy with England in July 2022, when the Lionesses beat Germany in the Euros final- a turning point for women’s football in England, both on and off the pitch.

Speaking on the work behind the scenes to grow the women’s game, Leah said, “I think what we’ve started here (at Arsenal), the sustainability of it, what we’re proving is possible for women’s sports, I think that’s a fairly good legacy to leave behind as a team.”

Leah’s work off the pitch and advocacy for growing the game was recognised in 2023 when she was named as Number 1 on the Woman’s Hour Power List.

Returning to the pitch and being a trailblazer

However, the two domestic seasons following the success of the Euros have not been straight-forward for Leah. 

She experienced a difficult injury period, even after returning from her ACL injury, with her missing games for Arsenal and having to withdraw from the February 2024 England camp due to injury.   

When discussing the last few seasons, Leah said, “I feel like this Arsenal team has been through so much and consistently comes out the other side. 

"We haven’t been as successful as we’d have liked to be in the past couple of seasons, something that we’re very focused on changing going forward. 

"When people do it sitting on the sidelines, as I have for the last year and a half or so, I see this team as trailblazers.  They’re changing the game, the way they connect with the fans, the way they’re authentic and show who they are as human beings, whilst also being incredible athletes. 

"That’s what I want people to remember and I want people to remember us as winners, which is why it is important we start bringing some trophies back to this club.”

Leah’s comeback after her ACL injury was when we played Reading in the Conti Cup last season, beating them 6-0. 

This game was also special for the team because Leah’s return was shared with Kim Little’s 300th Arsenal appearance.

Leah was then able to finally experience the growth of the game that she had contributed so much to, when she went on to feature in a sold-out Emirates stadium for the first time, in the north London derby this season.

In her most recent interview with Arsenal, Leah talked about her disappointment at missing out on the opportunity to play in the Manchester United game this season.

“The first time I cried since I did my ACL was when I missed out on the Man Utd game.  It broke my heart because I was so excited and I’m a fairly logical person and boring is maybe the word, but I stay pretty level-headed, but that was something I let myself get excited for. 

"So when that north London derby rolled around, there was absolutely no chance I was going to miss out on the opportunity to play on that stage with the sold-out crowd again.”

Leah was also able to start alongside Lotte Wubben-Moy in the Conti Cup final in 2024 against Chelsea, contributing to Arsenal’s most recent piece of silverware. 

Hopefully, we will be seeing a lot more of these two England internationals playing alongside each other in Jonas Eidevall’s defensive set-up next season.  

Leah’s relationship with Arsenal Football Club has been a special one for the last 19 years, which is why it is great that she has decided to continue her stay in north london. 

Her experience and achievements throughout the years that she has been at the club so far will be invaluable for younger members of the team and she has proved her significance on the pitch too. 

Gooners can look forward to seeing her as vice-captain of the team in the 2024-25 season.