Leah Williamson | OneFootball

A few weeks ago, some of us were starting to question Leah Williamson’s perfomances. She seemed to have lost her mojo. Some haters said “she was finished” while targeting her in the social media channels, which former teammate Jen Beattie said “was a bit too harsh“. Despite facing criticism after her performance in the 2-1 loss to Chelsea women and a 3-2 loss with England Lionesses, Leah persevered.

Ever since the October international break, she’s put up spirited performances. Despite many not expecting her to play a major role this season due to her recent return from an ACL injury, she has emerged as the Gunner’s defender with the most playing time. She is slowly returning to being the focal point of Arsenal’s women’s defence.

Following the 3-0 North London derby victory at the Tottenham Hotspurs stadium, she celebrated her 150th Arsenal appearance and also her 100th WSL win. Well, Wednesday, speaking to the media, interim manager Renee Slegers waxed lyrical about the England Lionesses star’s brilliance.

The Dutch coach acknowledges Leah Williamson’s outstanding performance thus far, emphasising how her role as the focal point of her defence has challenged her. She also acknowledged that the critics haven’t hindered Leah’s progress. Renne admitted, “Leah’s been great so far. […] Last couple of times she’s been the central player, and that brings out a lot of qualities in her. Credit to her. It’s not always easy when you go through those phases as a player. It’s not easy to pick yourself up and go forward to find what you need to do to develop yourself again. I think she’s been doing really well from an individual perspective.”

Along with her defensive partners, Steph Catley, Katie McCabe and Emily Fox, she’s surely going to continue soaring. Our Gunners kept another clean sheet when they met Juventus on Thursday night, at the Emirates. A great way to cap off Leah’s outstanding performances in this series of games before the November international break.

Leah will be captaining the Lionesses against Emma Hayes USWNT next Saturday. The United States will visit Wembley Stadium on Saturday 30th 2024, KO 17.20. Tickets can still be purchased here.

What are your thoughts Gooners? Got your tickets to see the Lionesses in action at Wembley?

Danni P

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