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When Leah Williamson leaves the Emirates dressing-room, she glances at one of the photos on the wall. It’s of Williamson and her teammates in the pre-match huddle.
She sees her excitement and engagement. It’s not just a game, it’s a feeling.
Later on, when Williamson leaves the ground, she passes a fan’s homage to the club painted on the stadium wall. “Arsenal is a feeling,” it reads.
joy, responsibility and community
It’s more than a feeling for Williamson. It’s joy, responsibility and community. It’s why Williamson has today signed a new contract at Arsenal, extending her 20-year association with the club.
Talking at the ground last week, Williamson opens up on the growth of the women’s game, why she enjoys working with Dutch coaches for club and country, whether a woman could coach a men’s team and why it’s important for her to use her platform to help others.
She speaks of the synergy at the club between the men’s and women’s teams and her chats with Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze. She starts with her love of the club.
“When we're here, in the tunnel, in the changing room, a lot of the imagery around the place now is women's and men’s because we share it,” Williamson says. “It's both of our home stadiums.
There's a picture in the dressing room of a team huddle from both teams. And I have goosebumps in our team huddle.
We're talking performance and purely business by that point, and I've goosebumps in the picture, and that's because of the feeling. I carry that with me.”
Williamson is embedded in the club she’s always supported. She joined Arsenal’s centre of excellence aged nine in 2006, made her debut at 17, and has won nine trophies.
She was named CBE in the New Year Honours List 2026 after a year in which she again captained England to the Euros and also helped Arsenal to Champions League glory. “I’ve been here 20 years,” she reflects.
“I don't think anybody should stay in one place for 20 years - that's my honest belief - but the way I feel here, it would be a big mistake to turn your back on something that feels so good. That is what fuels me.
It's the people, it's the values. “When I was signing this contract, a major thing I was thinking about was I care about the people here.
"I know the people here. I know the stewards. I know the security guards, the guy that lets me in on the gate every day. I want to give that love back to the people who take care of us.”
Arsenal is more than a feeling for her. “It’s a value as well as an emotion. People have always said Arsenal do things the right way. Part of that feeling is pride, community and fairness.
"That's what I've felt growing up. I come from a split household, Spurs and Arsenal. No slight on Spurs, but I felt that ‘feeling’ from the minute I stepped into Highbury as a player.
"It's my job to bring that feeling to life, to give the feeling an image. This is another family here, 100%. And my family were welcomed into this.”
Even her Spurs-supporting dad? “He's not outcast!”
“I do a really high-stakes job with lots of uncontrollables constantly. There's so much going on, so much emotion, and it's important to translate that into something that people can see.”
Trophies and good football. “I don't know if that comes from (Arsene) Wenger's era that I grew up in, of this aesthetically pleasing football.”
All elite footballers need to use that feeling as fuel judiciously, to balance heart and head. “It's hard sometimes,” Williamson continues, her mind going back to last season’s narrow Champions League final win over Barcelona.
“That was exceptionally hard for me. I actually had to put things in place, like with my centre-half partner (Steph Catley), we had certain words to snap away from the emotion.
“It can be a great strength. Can also be a problem. The minute we're winning the big games, and I have something to protect for my community, like my family's part of that, that’s when I find it hard, but day to day, I have my processes. I've had to work really hard at that.
"I used to struggle with performance anxiety because of the pressure. I overcame that. That sounds so dramatic, but I put things in place to turn the tide so I could enjoy the experience because of what it means.” The feeling.
I used to struggle with performance anxiety because of the pressure. I overcame that. That sounds so dramatic, but I put things in place to turn the tide so I could enjoy the experience
Williamson’s playing style is measured, full of timing, precision and nicking the ball, more cerebral than physical. “The way I play is actually really level. I don't think it's an emotional (style). My mum always told me if you slide in, then you're out of position.
"I've grown up in a mindset of performance. I don't want to waste the time I have here. I'm living the dream. What a shame it would be if the emotion tipped the performance, but also if the performance just overran and I didn't feel anything.”
Another feeling that has shaped Williamson is “dream big”. It was the inspirational message on a signed photo from the then Lionesses captain, Kelly Smith, an Arsenal legend.
Williamson was a mascot at that 2007 game. “As I got older, I had this conversation with my mum, and I said, ‘I just have to get to the first team whilst Kelly plays, I have to’. That was a real want of mine to be her team-mate.” Williamson achieved that dream.
“Now she's my coach, and she's a friend of mine. It’s funny how life works out. Because of her influence on me, and because of that interaction, that's why I write on everything ‘Dream Big’ (for fans). I pass those two words on. I did ask her! I was like, ‘did I need to ask your permission to use this line?!’”
Williamson admired Smith as a pioneer of women’s football. Williamson, herself, is very much a campaigner.
She has spoken at the United Nations about gender equality and the need to empower girls through sport. She has written to politicians about the need for more provision of sport in schools for girls.
She wore a rainbow armband throughout the 2022 European Championships. “I'm aware of my responsibility. It's also a beautiful thing to be, to stand up for things. I've tried to be outspoken on the things I believe in.
"I was brought up to speak my mind and to stand up for those that don't have a voice themselves, the under-represented. “I'm a woman. Not to be dramatic about it, but with football, it's not been this easy. I wouldn't say we were alienated anymore.”
But she knows the sacrifices previous generations made. “Which is why I struggle with the ‘fame’ aspect of it. I'm not a massive fan of being ‘somebody’. However, my existence, being visible and representing is powerful because I know the influence it had on my life.”
She’s been reading the American feminist author, Glennon Doyle, about the importance of activism and being on the right side of history. “Glennon Doyle said that in today's world, anyone that stands up and tries to use their voice for somebody else, be that over sexuality, race, gender, one of those causes, we are positioned as ‘the resistance’.
"When actually the other side, be it louder in some parts of the world, or at different times, that's ‘the resistance’. Because we're all brought up on love and kindness, and that's the path I want to follow.”
The torrent of toxicity in parts of social media understandably alarms her. “Football is really reflective of society. Goodness me, how much energy do people waste on hating somebody else?” Even during the Lionesses’ joyous European Championship glory of 2022, there were back-handed compliments.
Football is really reflective of society. Goodness me, how much energy do people waste on hating somebody else?
“Some things are a little coded. ‘I don't watch women's football, but that was brilliant.' They think they're being nice, and you think, ‘Well, it's a bit of a kick in the teeth’.” The overwhelming reaction was of delight, admiration and gratitude.
“So many people say to me, ‘thank you, I just had a lovely summer with my family’. The games were fiercely competitive, but it wasn't tainted; it was joyous, a celebration.”
She looks towards the pitch at the Emirates. “I feel like every time we come here, every time we have a big game, it's a celebration.”
Arsenal have led the growth of women’s football. Arsenal have long been committed to the women’s team, and now all their WSL games are at the Emirates.
The average attendance is 36,000, which would put them 13th in the Premier League. The former chief executive, Vinai Venkatesham, now at Spurs, was a powerful advocate.
As Williamson says, “Vinai fought really hard to get the women in the main stadium.” Venkatesham had to fight the men’s manager, Mikel Arteta, over use of the pitch.
“We still have some fights!” Williamson smiles.
But she knows there is a common ground in every sense. “The club takes it seriously. I had conversations with Vinai in the past. He won't mind me saying this: we were sitting down to review where we can be.
“Do you want us here? Do you want to be competitive? When we say what we stand for, do we want to do that?’ Vinai was almost shocked at the question. ‘Yes, let's do it. Let's demonstrate that it can be done’.”
Williamson marvels at the growth of the club since its founding in 1987, and emphasises her “responsibility” to those who paved the way, players like Rachel Yankey, Faye White and Smith and coaches like Vic Akers. “What was started here, so small, as a community-run organisation has now turned into one of the biggest women's teams in the world.”
Williamson lauds “the investment from the club, the different gambles, like the way they ticket and market the games”. During this reverie, Williamson’s competitive streak kicks in.
“People say we're the most decorated team in the Women's FA Cup (with 14), but we haven't won it for 10 years. I'm consciously aware of that, thinking ‘I love my history, and I'm so proud, which is why I want to continue that’.
"I like traditions, I like nostalgia. It's hard not to keep an eye on the past, even music.”
Her grandfather was in a band called The Good Time Losers, which had a Top 40 hit in 1967. “I have a tattoo of Trafalgar Square, which was the name of his song.”
It’s also where, four lions on a square, the Lionesses celebrated their 2022 Euros win. Good Time Winners.
She also has another memento of her musical grandfather. “I have a Pink Floyd picture at home because he supported them on tour.”
That 2022 trophy was particularly seismic. It bothered her that some people used the Lionesses as a stick to beat the underachieving men’s team with.
“It does bother me. Why in the world would I start competing with people that I don't play against? That's absolutely outrageous. Do I think if the men had won (Euro 2020), and then we had won, it would have had the same impact? No. Fate just makes its choice because the impact of that, the first trophy in 56 years (since the men in 1966), the first Euros ever."
"These are big statements and big realisations. Does that mean I didn't want them to win in 2020? No! Of course, I wanted them to win.”
She talks with the men’s team at Arsenal, especially the England players. “We're in the gym at the same time. I’m sure they know what's going on with us. We definitely know what's going on with them.
I speak with Declan, Bukayo, Ebs (Eze) about football a little bit, but it's more just human interactions
"On a personal level, there's a respect there as athletes. I speak with Declan, Bukayo, Ebs (Eze) about football a little bit, but it's more just human interactions.
"We've got the Spanish girls who speak to the Spanish men's players. We're all humans. It's a workplace at the end of the day.” Williamson currently plays for Renée Slegers and Sarina Wiegman, two Dutch coaches.
Do they bring something different to management? “I’ve asked myself this. Because they've brought me a lot of joy! The way they operate in business is a lot less emotional than we are here. They're very much matter-of-fact. ‘This is how it's going to be.’
“I could not speak more highly of Renée and Sarina and their backroom staff. There are times in a season when a manager needs you to put your boots on and deliver.
"But I've no doubt that I am cared for and considered as a human first by both of them. Being women, it's an interesting dynamic.
"I've never had a problem with any of my male coaches, but them being women, there's that unity and an understanding in the women's game.” Union Berlin have just appointed a female head coach in Marie-Louise Eta in charge of their men’s team.
Why is it still such a debate? “It all comes down to unconscious bias,” Williamson replies.
“The sad thing is that somebody will have to overachieve in their position as a woman to then earn the right for other women.” Could it happen here?
“Yes, yes. I truly believe that a woman could manage a men's team. This whole idea of being able to shout and match the men's energy, I don't know where it comes from. There's loads of different styles out there of managers now. I don't think it has anything to do with gender.”
Forthright and deep-thinking, Williamson reflects on the reality that the Lionesses are certainly not as diverse as the England men’s team.
“We are 100% lacking diversity in the women's game. There's a lot more restrictions for girls of different ethnic groups."
We are 100% lacking diversity in the women's game. There's a lot more restrictions for girls of different ethnic groups
"‘Bend it like Beckham’ is a perfect example of the barriers, and there's extra barriers in place in certain cultures or religions.” (The 2002 film involved a British Sikh girl struggling to convince her parents of the worthiness of football).
“Then you've got the money, and getting the kids out of the city to these academies. You look at Arsenal’s youth academy (for boys), Hale End, which is London, accessible by Tube, cheaper travel.
"The women's (for 16-19) is in Hertfordshire (at Oaklands College, St Albans). When I played, a lot of my teammates, going through the age groups, just stopped at some point, because it became too expensive. It's wrong because you're missing out on loads and loads of talent.”
Williamson emphasises that there is “some great work being done” and the Lionesses have had presentations from the FA on what they are doing to address the problem.
She’s in reflective mood so I ask her who she likes more, Leah the Footballer? Or Leah the Person, this grounded, conscientious individual?
“That's a really good question that I've never thought about. I think ‘Leah the Person’ because when I'm getting older and I think about life beyond football, I don't think I'll lose my identity when I lose ‘Leah the Footballer’.
"I'll be proud of what that person did, and proud of how that person represented me as a person, the dream chaser. “If you asked me that four years ago, I'd have said, ‘Leah the Footballer had some work to do.’
"Having the bravery to go, ‘I'm going to take it one step further, and I'm going to win’. That switched under Sarina at England, and I carried that back into Arsenal. Now, you asked me four years on, I've done that. My one rule is no ‘what ifs?’ At the time, that would have been my ‘what if?’.”
Committed to Arsenal, Williamson is in a good place – in every sense.
“I don't need to pump myself up for games, because I know exactly what I'm playing for and why. I have chosen to stay. This is my life. I know why I'm here.”
The feeling.
