Leah Williamson says Arsenal’s results this season “tell a story” as the search for a new head coach continues following Jonas Eidevall’s resignation.
Eidevall left his post earlier this month after a home defeat to Chelsea in the Women’s Super League, preceded by a heavy loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
And Williamson acknowledged it was “refreshing” to have a change of scenery after joining up with the England squad for games against Germany and South Africa.
She said: “I’m a footballer. Our job is to win games and that hasn’t happened so smoothly. Results tell a story.
“Performance is another thing that you can actually change and reflect on a day-to-day basis. To be honest, I’m happy to be here in a different environment. I think sometimes that comes at the right time.
Jonas Eidevall left his Arsenal post after a Women’s Super League defeat to Chelsea
“Since I’ve been here [with England] I’ve had no contact with the club and it’s quite easy to separate in that regard. Everyone plays for a club so they can play for their country, so to be here in this environment is refreshing. Playing with this team, everyone knows how much we all love it.
“It’s been a different start of the season. We’ve been at the club for a long time, usually we’d have an international window before this. Results tell a story but I think the work I’ve seen going on, especially from my club, the level of the whole world of football has gone up and everyone’s enjoying that challenge.”
Arsenal have responded to Eidevall’s resignation with back-to-back victories – over Valerenga in the Champions League and away at West Ham in the WSL.
But having played just five league matches, the Gunners already find themselves five points behind leaders Manchester City and four behind Chelsea who have a game in hand. Next up for Arsenal is a trip to Manchester United, live on Sky Sports on November 3.
Sky Sports News revealed yesterday that Nick Cushing is the leading candidate to become Arsenal Women’s next head coach.
Nick Cushing is the leading candidate to become Arsenal Women’s next head coach.
The Englishman has been identified as a possible replacement for Eidevall but no talks have taken place yet as his current club New York City FC are in the MLS playoffs. The final takes place on December 7 and Arsenal are in no hurry as they have full faith in interim coach Renee Slegers.
‘No change in confidence’
Williamson was asked if the rollercoaster at Arsenal was affecting her confidence. But she said things were different at the club to how they might be perceived on the outside.
“[There’s] no difference in the confidence levels,” she said.
“I’m in that environment. The picture that we paint of a situation is potentially different from the rollercoaster that you speak of.
“We’re all footballers and we’ve been through many, many different scenarios and now we’re here with England which has been a consistent environment for the last couple of years.”
Williamson captained England to glory at Wembley in the Euro 2022 Final against Germany. England face the same opponents on Friday before hosting South Africa, also at Wembley, four days later.
After the Euros, Williamson suffered a long-term knee injury but she is now fully fit and hopes to start at the heart of Sarina Wiegman’s defence.
Wembley games not sell-outs
The Lionesses have previously brought record crowds into Wembley for their matches. Friday’s fixture sees a decrease, with an expected crowd of 54,000. But both Wiegman and Williamson think those numbers are still impressive.
England’s head coach Sarina Wiegman
Wiegman said: “It’s real positive we play at Wembley twice with over 100,000 people coming to the stadium.
“Of course Wembley can have more people, so hopefully more people can come but we are thinking big and having the opportunity for people to come to the game, we are happy with the amount of people coming to the game.”
Williamson added: “If you take the perspective of playing two games at Wembley so close to each other a few years ago it wouldn’t have happened – 54,000 is still a lot more than most countries will host.
“We have a vision, we have always dreamt the biggest but it’s a step in the right direction and hopefully the way we play tomorrow will bring more people for the next games – that’s our job.”
