The defender talks about how much it meant to win the WSL title, the horrible injuries that nearly derailed Arsenal’s season – and her dad being a Spurs fan

When Arsenal clinched their first Women’s Super League title in seven years at Brighton’s Amex Stadium last weekend, a sobbing Leah Williamson could be seen embracing her mum in the crowd. A clip of that went viral and a few days later, when we meet at the Arsenal training ground, she pats her heart and says: “I just feel it. In here.”

A lifelong Gooner who has won both domestic cups with Arsenal, Williamson does not usually cry, but as she got closer and closer to “the missing piece” she could not hold back the tears. “I said after that I’ll never ever apologise for the emotion I have because it’s what makes me the player I am,” the 22-year-old says. “I’ve never been afraid of getting stuck in, I’ll put myself on the line for this football club.

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“I nearly cried when we scored the first goal because I just knew it was going to be our day. There’s only a couple of times I cried for goals in my life. Thierry Henry’s return at the Emirates, I was behind that goal, it was incredible. Things like that, they stick with you.”

Katie McCabe’s goal ensured victory against Birmingham on 31 March in what was their final match against top-four opposition and was a sign of the waterworks to come. Two, likely routine, games followed and wins in both secured the title and rendered Saturday’s match with Manchester City irrelevant.

“That was my highlight of the season when Katie scored that goal. I just wanted her to score so badly. I cried on that day. I just don’t know what’s wrong with me this year,” she says, with a slightly annoyed grin. “Hopefully, this won’t be a recurring thing. I always thought once we got through that we’d be fine. But it’s never like that, the pressure of the next game is crazy.”

It is well known that Williamson comes from an Arsenal family, but it is less well known that her dad is actually a Spurs fan. He failed to prise her away from the Arsenal supporting contingent though. “I forget they’re not just supporting me. My family would come if I was playing or not. My grandma refuses to get tickets from me. Her and my cousin buy their membership every year because they’re fans of the club.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Leah Williamson in action against Japan during the SheBelieves Cup, which England won. Photograph: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

The emotions were perhaps heightened by the manner in which Arsenal have seen out the title race. Having exploded out of the blocks, sweeping everyone aside with ease, a 5-0 win at Chelsea the pinnacle, the injuries started to mount. “We just about kept our head above the water,” says Williamson, who is going to the World Cup with England after Ian Wright announced her selection on social media. “It did get to that point where we were like one more and we’re not going to be able to cope.

“You’re not just talking about bringing the kids in and filling holes, you’re talking about the strain on the rest of you that are still there, trying to stay healthy, trying to still perform at the level, trying to invest yourself completely while also panicking the whole time, it’s hard.

“And it’s hard to watch your friends get injured. It was hard to watch Jordan [Nobbs’] injury, it was probably the most heartbreaking thing in the whole season. Horrible. Straight away you’re just thinking: ‘It’s a World Cup year, it’s a World Cup year.’

“Yet we stood strong. And I think that’s been the story of Arsenal this year, it looks pretty from the outside but actually we’ve dug deep, we’ve stuck together and we’ve ground out results with performances that weren’t necessarily our best but that’s something you need to do when you’re a winning team.”

Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) This is what it means.



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It came at a price and, with the squad stretched, their cup runs suffered. And Williamson missed a penalty in the Continental Cup final shootout, which Manchester City went on to win.

“I never want to be that player that lets the team down. Everybody wants to do their job. I’m a very logical thinker so straight away I knew exactly why I missed, what I did wrong and how I’m going to make it better because that’s the only way you don’t dwell.”

Williamson credits the Arsenal manager, Joe Montemurro, with a system that helped cope with the crisis. “The way we play has allowed us to maintain a high level and the system allows people to slot in. We think he’s the best thing since sliced bread.

“Not a single one of the girls has a bad thing to say about him. He’s a laid-back coach, very different from any other manager I’ve known in that sense, but the level of clarity in terms of how he wants us to play and what he wants from us, is so strong.

“He’s very Arsenal. When he tells us something is going to work, it usually does. I just hope that we don’t get more injuries so that you can see more of what he has to give us because I think the more information he gives us, the better this team is going to get.”