‘I can’t remember the last time I had a proper pre-season, I really appreciate it’ Arseblog exclusive with Leah Williamson

This summer, Leah Williamson extended her Arsenal contract. It once again len a tenure at the club already in its 17th season. By now, it is well known how strong the bonds are between childhood Arsenal fan Leah and the club. I put it to her, however, that Arsenal fans should not take for granted that she will extend her deal. Frankly, there isn’t a club in the world that wouldn’t want her.

‘I am conscious that I have been here for so long and the easiest thing in the world would be to keep putting pen to paper every year,’ she explains. ‘Everyone knows how much I love the club, it isn’t a secret. As a professional you have to make sure you are doing it for the right reasons though.

‘I want to be the best footballer that I can be for Arsenal, but if this place wasn’t doing that for me, or if I felt that it was missing something of course I would pursue being at the top of my game. I am just glad that when I thought about it, I felt like this was the place that I could do that the best.’

Williamson played in a friendly against Washington Spirit here in DC last weekend and the Gunners are gearing up to play Chelsea in the same city on Sunday. It’s a stark contrast to last summer for the player, who had just suffered an ACL injury and looked on from the sidelines as England progress to the World Cup Final, she was also forced into an injury enforced watching brief as an undercooked Arsenal side tumbled out of the Champions League qualifiers last September.

‘This is the first real pre-season I have done in years, I can’t remember the last time I had a proper pre-season and I appreciate it. I am at the age now where it really matters to get yourself right at the start of the season. I don’t plan to be off the pitch as much as I have been and it’s been nice to get that build-up to get myself right.’

Chief among the areas for improvement for Jonas Eidevall’s side this season is their ability to break down low defensive blocks. Arsenal took nine out of the 12 points available against Manchester City and Chelsea last season and beat Chelsea in the Conti Cup Final but lost to West Ham, Spurs and Liverpool, which cost them a title charge. Arsenal have brought in creative players like Mariona Caldentey and Rosa Kafaji to try to solve the issue.

‘It is something we discussed last year and it improved as the year went on,’ the England captain reasons. ‘Trying to figure out how best to beat those situations. Some of the players that have come in are a great fit to solve that problem. If you put me up there I would be a bull in a china shop but these are players who have those qualities. I am hopeful it won’t be an issue for us this year, it has been a good tactic to use against us because it has been too effective.’

Williamson’s return also means that the right hand side of the team has one of its key units back in tandem. Williamson plays at right centre-half and her ball playing abilities were missed during the first half of the season. Beth Mead, on the right wing, simply guarantees end product while US right-back Emily Fox joined the club in January. Williamson is excited by that triangle but says Arsenal are strong in other areas too.

‘There is great potential for it and we saw it a few times at the back end of last season. But also Arsenal is built to be able to swap players in and out and feel no difference, I think the low blocks require a bit of magic and when everyone is healthy and at their best, that is when I think we will see that magic happening.

‘Sometimes as a footballer it is difficult not to go stale, as a player and as a team and sometimes last season it felt like we could play for days and not score. I am hopeful we won’t feel like that this season.’ In her absence during the first half of last season, fellow academy product Lotte Wubben-Moy stepped up and comfortably won Arsenal.com and the Arsenal Women’s Supporters Clubs player of the season awards.

This summer, 17-year-old academy product Katie Reid has caught the eye with her performances and with Amanda Ilestedt on maternity leave, she is currently the fourth choice centre-half. Williamson says this trifecta of academy grown defenders is important for the club.

‘It makes me very happy. The academy girls that have joined us on this trip have been incredible. I think it is especially important to have that in the centre-half position, in the spine of the team to have Arsenal people there. In terms of Lotte, she was our only representative in the team of the season this year and we want more of our people joining her. She had an incredible season.

‘Katie Reid is one of the best young kids I have seen come through. Especially her attitude, she is listening and watching everything. I said to her the other day that she is one of the shyest people I have ever met but she is too good to be shy. She isn’t going to be left alone much longer, people will talk about her and want to talk to her. I love training with her. She is a big girl but she is wonderful technically and she is Arsenal.’

Last weekend, Arsenal were put through their paces by Washington Spirit in hot conditions. Spirit are also in the middle of their season. With Champions League qualifiers in the first week of September and a WSL opener against Manchester City, the emphasis at Arsenal is on coming into the season in peak condition.

‘It was a different challenge, different style of team, it has been a long time since we have played against a US team,’ she explains. ‘It was a good test for us, the manager has them playing lovely football and they are a very athletic team. It was a good game but I enjoyed it a lot. For pre-season it was such a competitive game and they gave us a real test. We got a lot out of it and I hope they did too.

‘It was the first time in a long time where I played a team where I didn’t really know the profile of the players, it was a good test for me. Usually you watch a lot of footage of your opponents and we didn’t get that opportunity this time so it was good. It was uncomfortable and that was good. I still have a lot more learning to do and want to take my game to a higher level and that won’t happen if I am comfortable.’

Williamson says such encounters between American and English sides is great for the growth of the game, but also provides a valuable sporting test to be exposed to different teams and different styles. ‘As a national team we are preparing for the Euros next summer and you will be playing against lots of different types of opposition and you want your flaws to be shown in a safe environment like this one.

‘The calendar doesn’t leave you a lot of time to play friendlies, there is no time. It’s great for the women’s game to have these games. It’s great for the off the pitch side to connect with our fans out here, the US and the UK right now are helping each other to grow the game and it’s been really great to be part of that.’

Arsenal has led the way in terms of crowd sizes and fan culture in the UK with record breaking home attendances, a sizeable away following and a songbook to match. Leah is asked by a US based journalist how she felt the atmosphere in the Spirit game felt compared to the UK.

‘I think when English people go and watch a game, and Tim will back me up here, they go to watch the game first and foremost. Here there are more events around games, it’s a really safe environment for families too. But we felt a lot of love for the team out here, there is a real support base here that I have never been aware of before.

‘We have a nice situation where sometimes we play in front of 3,000 people and sometimes we play in front of 60,000 and naturally you want to connect with as many people as possible. But now we come over here and it is different again. Last season, we had a great moment with our supporters at the Conti Cup Final and a big win and the crowd reaction brought me to tears that day.’

Hopefully Leah Williamson and Arsenal have cause to shed more happy tears together in the coming seasons.