Leah Williamson interview: Arsenal defender on her return to form, new boss Renee Slegers and Chelsea rivalry

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Evening Standard

·23. Januar 2025

Leah Williamson interview: Arsenal defender on her return to form, new boss Renee Slegers and Chelsea rivalry

Exclusive interview with the Arsenal defender who is thriving under the leadership of new boss Renee Slegers

There was a time when Leah Williamson used to occasionally visit a psychic. It started when a member of her family was going to see one and everyone, including Williamson, ended up going along. Over the years, the Arsenal defender carried on going.

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Williamson did not take what she heard as “gospel”, but there was a value in it. When searching for answers during painful moments, like the knee injury that kept her out of the World Cup nearly two years ago, some solace could be found in the thought that some things are out of your control.

“I kept it up for a couple of years, because I just thought, why not,” says Williamson. “It’s not something that I think about, but if you ever just need to tap into something or you are searching for a reason … like my ACL when it happened, do you start going, why? Do you start digging into it or do you just trust that there is a plan?

“It’s not a comfort blanket, but it’s just what will be, will be. Some things are just going to happen and some things you can have an impact on. And, if you don’t like something, then do something about it.”

Fresh start

It has been a while since Williamson has visited the psychic and she laughs when asking if anyone has any new recommendations, given this one has left her “high and dry” by moving away.

Williamson’s happiness sums up the mood at Arsenal right now, who go into Sunday’s clash with reigning Women’s Super League champions Chelsea riding the crest of a wave.

Head coach Renee Slegers, who was handed the job permanently last Friday after a spell as interim boss, has galvanised the team. Arsenal have won 12 of their 13 games under her, drawing the other one.

Goal bonus: Leah Williamson scores the opener in the 5-0 win over Crystal Palace

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

It is a far cry from the start of the season, when former boss Jonas Eidevall resigned in October after Arsenal won just one of their opening four league games.

To make matters worse for Williamson, after a great pre-season, she was battling concussion and illness, which led to her feeling down.

“It was a tough time,” she says. “It just felt really disjointed [due to the concussion and illness] and I want to enjoy myself. And when I say enjoy myself, that doesn’t mean disregard the football, that actually means — I am playing well, I feel good, I can enjoy my job. I don’t think anybody wants to go to work and not enjoy it.”

Williamson is now fully fit and thriving under Slegers, who has had a transformative effect on the England captain. The biggest impact has been on Williamson’s mentality.

Slegers first started working with Williamson last season, when she joined Arsenal’s backroom team, and they quickly gelled. The relationship has developed since then to the extent Williamson believes she is playing as well as she has for years.

“Before Renee took over, she did a lot with me on just understanding me,” says Williamson. “I just feel like she sees me. It is probably a Dutch thing, but she doesn’t say things for the sake of it. She says what she means, and I think she looks at things from a slightly different perspective than I have known from a coach.

“In football, a manager comes in and it’s a bit pot luck — do you align with them or not? As I got older — circumstances, everything that’s happened, injuries — I became such a protected person. I protected myself in any way I could, which means you actually end up being less vulnerable.

“And I think, as a footballer, to grow you have to be open. She has just unlocked that. It is a safe space to be honest and open about how I am feeling, what do I like, what do I not like. It is the first time in my career, where I said to her, ‘I am more excited for training than I am for games, because I can feel stuff happening, I can feel development’.”

My ball: Renee Slegers is announced as the head coach of Arsenal Women

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Williamson may be in great form, but there is a hunger to take her performances to the next level. Still only 27, she is coming into her peak and discussions with Slegers have revolved around what direction she takes her game in.

“There is a load of freedom in that direction and it is sort of like a week-on-week thing,” says Williamson “But I want my foundations to be good enough that when new things come in, or the game changes slightly, I can adapt well.

“Do I make my super strengths stronger and really go with them and know that can be an impact? Or do you work on the other little bits that could tidy up your game? Maybe that is where I am right now. Knowing what I am good at, but knowing in a game there is something that can really help the team. I am putting in, arguably, the best performances I have for a long time.”

The Rice connection

Growing up, Williamson used to look up to great female defenders like Anita Asante, Faye White and Mary Phillip, but Arsenal’s “one-club mentality” means she can now also learn off the men’s team.

“I do look over there [at the men’s team] a little bit, just at the game, and how you can control it,” says Williamson. “I mean right now, you can watch Gabriel and William Saliba at Arsenal — which I think is a fantastic centre-back pairing.

“Both have different strengths, both have different roles to play and when I look at that I think about more of a partnership. I think as I have got older it is more about, who am I playing with? What can we do together?”

Sounding board: Declan Rice and Williamson share ideas on mentality and preparation

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Arsenal’s men and women’s teams both operate out of their London Colney training ground and there are dedicated shared spaces, such as the gym. Interaction is commonplace and, while taking photographs for this interview, men’s captain Martin Odegaard bumps into Williamson and gives her a high-five.

Williamson believes that connection between the two sides is growing and, as the women’s game evolves, it could lead to a sharing of ideas in both directions.

“I think that is the next step,” she says. “From a mentality perspective and preparation, the English boys — especially Declan [Rice] — I speak to a lot about football, more so than I have ever known with the men’s game.”

Hunting the title

On the horizon for Williamson this summer is Euro 2025, which England will head to as reigning champions, and she has her roadmap to the tournament laid out.

“Before Christmas, we did a lot at England about knowing what you need to do in the next months leading up to the Euros,” she says. “That has worked well for me. I have done my plan and I know what I need to. There will be points to review and check I am on course. I want to be in that squad, I want to be with England in the summer. But, I think, the job here at Arsenal is inspiring me just as much at the minute, so it’s good.”

It is no wonder Williamson is motivated for what is ahead at Arsenal because, despite a difficult start, they have everything to play for this season. The Gunners are second in the Women’s Super League, but a win at Stamford Bridge over leaders Chelsea on Sunday will cut the gap at the top to four points.

Victory this weekend would represent a huge scalp for Arsenal, because Chelsea have looked imperious since Sonia Bompastor replaced Emma Hayes in the summer and are unbeaten across all competitions this season.

We have left ourselves a lot to do to chase down Chelsea, but we still have enough games to do it

“The aim is to win every game and go into it to protect that dream of chasing them down,” says Williamson. “We have left ourselves a lot to do, we are not silly — but we still have the games to do it. I don’t think anyone is looking back [at the start of the season]. It was what it was. It wasn’t great, we weren’t at our best and, ultimately, those games could have still been won. That’s how we feel.”

The rivalry between Arsenal and Chelsea has proved a fierce one. Last season, after Arsenal beat Chelsea in the League Cup final, Hayes accused Eidevall of “male aggression” after an altercation on the touchline. Both managers are now gone and Williamson believes that will likely lead to a “different type of rivalry” developing.

“From what I have seen, Sonia and Renee (below) are probably similar temperaments,” she says. “There will be a lot of respect and I hope that people would share that sentiment between the two clubs. Ultimately, Chelsea have been winning for a long time. The dynamic hasn’t necessarily changed, it’s just the people.”

Chelsea this weekend is the start of a run of three huge league games for Arsenal, which culminates in them hosting rivals Tottenham at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal took the decision to make the Emirates the main home of their women’s team this season and it has worked well, with 40,000 tickets already sold for the game with Spurs on February 16.

On a roll: Arsenal have won 12 of 13 games under Renee Slegers and are eyeing Chelsea at the top of the table

Action Images via Reuters

“That tribalism is coming into the women’s game — and I think it is great,” says Williamson. “There was a time I remember beating Spurs 10-0, for example, way back when. Now it is a competitive fixture, you don’t know what is going to happen. I am just grateful that we now have that fixture as Spurs Women were way behind in terms of investment before.”

The huge crowds at the Emirates emphasise the growth of the women’s game and that is not lost on Williamson, who is determined to make the most of the platform that is now on offer.

That manifests itself in different ways, from Williamson attending a community football session in Tufnell Park this month to her speaking at the United Nations. It was back in 2023 that Williamson spoke at the UN, becoming the first England women’s footballer to do so, and she made an impassioned plea to challenge gender stereotypes.

Levelling the playing field for girls around the world is something that is close to her heart and, given the profile she now has, Williamson has vowed to keep striving for equality.

“I have found places where I can have an impact and I don’t ever want to waste the platform that I have been given,” she says. “Sometimes responsibility falls onto your lap and then sometimes you have an opportunity to make a difference. And I think it helps me as a footballer, because the perspective is there, too. Like I have said before, football is the most significant of insignificant things.”