Arsenal can go far in Europe, says Williamson
A Champions League tie against Fiorentina might be overshadowed by the north London derby
In the Williamson household, the start of the new Women’s Super League season holds added significance, and not just because one member of the family will be hoping to help Arsenal win the title again. Leah Williamson, a lifelong fan and a crucial part of the team that last season won Arsenal their first league trophy in seven years, already has her eyes on the mid-november fixture against newly promoted Tottenham Hotspur.
“I grew up in a split household,” she tells The Daily Telegraph. “My mum supports Arsenal and my dad supports Spurs. Even now my dad can’t bring himself to say ‘come on Arsenal’. He just says ‘come on reds’ when he is watching me.”
Williamson’s presence in the side means the family split does not quite transcend the men’s game but, having grown up with the north London divide, she insists women’s football can only benefit from the development of a rivalry.
“I love it,” she says. “As a fan it’s the best game in the calendar. I can’t wait to bring that into the league. I want there to be a big rivalry.
“In women’s football there’s not enough of that. Until recently we’ve not had many derby games. Players love playing in them and I want there to be something on the line [against Spurs].”
The gulf between the two sides remains sizeable. While Arsenal are chasing back-to-back titles and have also ended their seven-year wait for a return to the Champions League, Tottenham were promoted to the WSL for the first time in their history this summer. Arsenal won a pre-season friendly between the teams 6-0, with Tottenham having only this season committed to their players going full-time.
The November meeting will nonetheless attract plenty of attention, not least because it will be held at
Tottenham’s new stadium. Last weekend, a combined 55,000 fans watched the Manchester derby at the Etihad and Chelsea’s win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.
While grateful for the chance to showcase the WSL in front of bigger crowds, even the mere mention of the north London derby makes it impossible for Williamson to suppress her Arsenal partisanship.
“I’m not sure how I feel about going there and appreciating their spectacular stadium,” she jokes. “But it will be a great fixture.”
More immediately, Arsenal return to the Champions League tonight. They remain the only English team to have won the competition in its 18-year history, doing so in 2007, when a 10-yearold Williamson was the match-day mascot, walking on to the pitch with many of her idols, who would later become her team-mates.
Williamson is hopeful that the added depth in the current squad can help Arsenal contend with the demands of European football. A two-legged tie against Serie A runners-up Fiorentina provides a
‘It is the best game in the calendar – I can’t wait to bring that into the WSL’
tough first challenge, with the first leg in Florence, but Williamson insists “there is no reason we can’t go far in the competition.”
At just 22, she is already aware she “won’t be able to retire from work at 35”. So, she is following in her father’s footsteps by taking a degree in accounting.
“I had quite a few injuries at the start of my career,” she says. “You never know what’s going to happen. I’m doing accounting to secure my future. I want football to be the best thing in my life but not the only thing. You have to have some sort of balance.” Nobody could accuse Williamson of being anything other than fully focused on Arsenal, though. Even now, 13 years on from signing for the club, she seems delighted to be there.
“To play for my childhood club, the club that I love, it’s pretty surreal,” she says. “When I was younger you had to be the best in the world or go to America to be professional. People still ask me if I do football full-time, or what my real job is. I don’t take it for granted.”