LEAH WILLIAMSON says winning the Champions League final later this month will help Arsenal reclaim their seat at the top table of the women’s game.
The Gunners take on Barcelona in the showpiece event in Lisbon on May 24, aiming to win their first European trophy since lifting the Women’s Uefa Cup in 2007.
Arsenal have traditionally been one of the strongest clubs, but they have recently been caught up and overtaken by other sides following the rapid development of the women’s game, especially on the domestic front.
But Williamson says her side should be dominating the final against defending champions Barca.
“It’s about going somewhere that we’ve never been before. It’s new territory in an Arsenal shirt for everybody in the team,” the England international told the PA news agency.
“So I think we’d be super proud of continuing the legacy in that Arsenal has always been up there in women’s football.
“It’s not enough for us just to be up there any more, we obviously want to win. We’ve always been up there and we’ve always been consistent in that.
“Speaking in the whole journey of women’s football, people always have had to chase Arsenal, and then it gets to a point where people catch up and they’re investing.
“And then it’s about how do you match that and move with the times, as well as being proud of what we were before?
“So I think Arsenal, as a name and as a club, they deserve to be dominating in any competition that they play in, but that obviously hasn’t been the case in recent years.”
Williamson is hoping success in Portugal is the start of a glorious summer where she will lead England, aiming to defend their crown, into Euro 2025.
The 27-year-old says Sarina Wiegman’s current crop of Lionesses are heading into the unknown.
“It’s a new England, it’s a new task,” the defender added.
“It’s the unknown again, which is very exciting, but I think we best believe everybody will be fired up and ready for the summer when it comes around.
“I don’t think we are favourites. I think there’s lots of different teams that could win it and have the potential of winning it.”
Meanwhile, the Women’s Super League season will come to a conclusion this weekend, with the Gunners preparing to take on Manchester United at home in their final fixture at Ashburton Grove.
A win or draw will suffice for Renee Slegers’s side to finish the season in second behind WSL table-toppers Chelsea, however, the third-place Red Devils could leapfrog Arsenal in the table if they manage to take three points from their meeting in north London.
Arsenal's Leah Williamson acknowledges the crowd, March 22, 2025
