Arsenal has agreed and announced the renewal of Leah Williamson’s contract with the club. The England international has been with the team since 2006 and, at 27 years old, still has many years ahead of her as England captain.
Williamson is one of the few veteran players in both men’s and women’s sports who can wear the one-club badge. While there are many younger stars who have been with the club since they were children, Williamson continues to be an example, as evidenced by her statements upon the renewal.
“Everyone knows what Arsenal means to me, but I think every time I sign a new contract, I feel that love ignite all over again,” she said.
Mikel Arteta now uses Williamson as a reference point in future meetings with academy graduates. Bukayo Saka signed a new agreement with the club last year, despite speculation about his future and links to Manchester City and Liverpool.
Saka serves as an example for the young academies of how to become an established person on the sidelines and that a successful path exists. Players such as Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Chido Obi-Martin want to emulate the winger.
When he signed his new agreement however last year, there was an emphasis more so on his own personal aspirations as a player. That Arsenal was the right place to attain them.
“For me, it’s about achieving my personal ambitions; how much I push myself and demand from myself each game, week in, week out,” he stated. “Then I have all the right people around me in terms of family, and when I come to the training ground, my teammates, the coaching staff.”
