After Leah Williamson put pen to paper on a new contract at Arsenal, we thought we’d look back at 12 of her best moments from the past 12 years!
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Leah made her senior debut for us as a teenager at the age of 17, replacing Rachel Yankey in a 2-0 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Birmingham City. A disappointing loss, but a proud moment for Leah, who had spent the seven years prior in our academy.
Check out the above interview between Rachel and Leah, which we produced three years ago to celebrate the latter’s 200th appearance, in which they reflect on that debut!
FIRST TASTE OF SUCCESS
In 2014, Leah enjoyed winning her first FA Cup final, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute for Jade Bailey as we beat Everton 2-0 at Stadium MK.
Kelly Smith and Yukari Kinga were the goalscorers as we achieved an FA Cup double with our men’s team for the third time in our history (also in 1993 and 1998).
It was also a homecoming for Leah, who grew up in Milton Keynes!
That campaign began with a 2-0 win at home to Gillingham in the fifth round, which Leah impressed in, followed by a 2-1 win at Birmingham City in the quarter-finals and a dramatic 5-3 win after extra-time away to Chelsea in the semi-finals.
LEAGUE CUP RECOGNITION
We might have lost the 2014 FA WSL Continental Cup final against Manchester City, but that didn’t stop Leah from being named the competition’s Player of the Year.
Four wins and one defeat in the group stage saw us finish second in the table, level on points with Chelsea but behind them on goal difference, before beating Notts County 2-0 in the semi-finals.
Leah was among the goals in one of those group games, scoring in a 4-0 win away to Millwall.
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
Read more
Leah named PFA Young Player of the Year
In 2015, Leah was named the PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year, just a year after making her WSL debut, having become an integral part of Pedro Martinez Losa’s first-team squad.
“I’m overwhelmed,” she said. “It’s amazing to be recognised by fellow players so I’m just very humbled.
“It’s taken a lot of work since the moment I started playing football, but this is my first full season with the first team so you have to try to make an impact, make yourself known and give it everything you’ve got.”
MORE FA CUP GLORY
Leah helped us to another FA Cup trophy in 2016, beating Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley Stadium in the final, with Danielle Carter the goalscorer that day.
It had been a dramatic route to the final, as we drew 1-1 with Birmingham City in the fifth round (before winning 5-3 on penalties), and drew 2-2 with Notts County in the quarter-finals (winning 4-3 on penalties), and then putting seven past Sunderland in the semi-finals without reply.
EVER PRESENT
In our 2017/18 League Cup-winning campaign, Leah played every minute. That started with an emphatic 7-0 win at home to London Bees, followed by a 5-2 victory away to Millwall Lionesses. After suffering a 2-1 loss at home to Reading, we then hit Watford for six to finish second in Group One South to advance to the knock-out stages.
We beat Sunderland 3-1 in the quarters, got our revenge on Reading with a 3-2 win in the semis, and then managed a 1-0 win over Man City in the final.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS AT LAST
For the first time in her career, Leah was part of a league title winning team as we secured the 2018/19 WSL trophy.
Our centre-back was an integral part of that squad, making 19 league appearances (27 in all competitions), with only Vivianne Miedema and Katie McCabe palying more topflight matches (both 20).
We ended up winning the league comfortably that season, finishing seven points clear of second-placed Man City as we won 18 and lost just two of our matches, with Leah helping us keep 12 clean sheets in the process.
BACK TO WINNING WAYS
Following a spell of four years without a trophy, the 2022/23 League Cup was the next trophy in our cabinet by way of a 3-1 win in the final away to Chelsea at Selhurst Park, which Leah played 90 minutes of. Stina Blackstenius and Kim Little were our goalscorers that day, as well as a Niamh Charles own goal.
Leah had also played her part in the quarter-finals, featuring for 67 minutes of our 3-0 win at home to Aston Villa, and the semi-finals, which she got 82 minutes in as we beat Man City 1-0 at home.
A LONG-AWAITED RETURN
Leah sustained an ACL injury in April 2023 and would be forced to miss that summer’s World Cup as a result. She underwent surgery and returned to action in a 6-0 League Cup win over Reading on January 21, 2024.
She wasted no time on her return, capping off the performance with a sumptuous assist for Beth Mead, who volleyed home with ease.
BACK TO BACK
We won the League Cup again in 2023/24, this time beating Chelsea 1-0 after extra time at Molineux Stadium in the final, having beaten both Aston Villa and London City Lionesses 4-0 in the semi-finals and quarter-finals respectively.
Yet another trophy to lift alongside Kim Little, and the best was yet to come!
CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE
There’s not much topping this one! Leah’s incredible journey at Arsenal reached a huge high when, at the end of the 2024/25 season, she lifted the UEFA Women’s Champions League after keeping out Barcelona in the final.
Leah made 13 appearances for us in Europe that season, including big knockout game victories over Real Madrid and Lyon.
After the Barca win, Leah said: “I’m very, very happy. We saw what Barca were good at and we said we’d respect it and we did. We just knew what we had to do to be winners and we did it. Nobody would put a foot wrong.
“When we had the time, the goal, the passage of play to the corner, we played some lovely football. So I think I’m just very proud to be Arsenal today.”
CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD
Not content with just becoming champions of Europe, this season we went onto lift the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup to confirm our place as the best team in the world!
Leah didn’t feature in our 6-0 semi-final win over AS FAR and as an unused substitute for the 3-2 final win against Corinthians on home soil, but naturally she took to the pitch afterwards to hold aloft more silverware with Kim. Here’s hoping there’s plenty more to come!
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