The last time Arsenal were in a European final, Leah Williamson was there on the pitch with them.
A giddy 10-year-old mascot at Meadow Park, the women’s team’s long-time home ground a few miles north of London, she watched her beloved Arsenal make history as the first, and still only, English side to be crowned continental champions.
Eighteen years on from that triumph in what was then called the UEFA Women’s Cup, Arsenal are in the Women’s Champions League final this weekend, with central defender Williamson as the team’s heartbeat: the vice-captain and lifelong fan constantly grappling with how to play with just the right amount of passion.
“When you play for a club that you support, there’s so much emotion that I play with,” Williamson told reporters earlier this season. She talked of there being a “sweet spot” for performing with not too such intensity and not too little, of trying to be “perfectly charged” for games and not draining herself through “unnecessary emotion”.
When it comes to Arsenal, be it the men’s or women’s team, Williamson has often worn her heart on her sleeve. Her raw emotion celebrating their come-from-behind 2-1 Premier League home win against Fulham in August 2022, caught by Sky Sports’ cameras, being a perfect…
