In April 2023, Arsenal Women’s stalwart defender Leah Williamson suffered a devastating ACL injury in a WSL clash against Manchester United women.
That injury saw her miss the rest of the 2022-23 season and the start of the 2023-24 season. Leah also missed the Women’s World Cup 2023, in Australia & New Zealand, alongside her Arsenal teammates Beth Mead & Vivianne Miedema, who both suffered the same fate in late 2022. Leah returned to the pitch for Arsenal in early 2024 but didn’t really offer much for the second half of last season.
Leah had a slow start to the 2024-25 season but seems to have hit top form in recent weeks.
That said, an interesting revelation by Pitchnews.W (on their IG page) has emerged about her playing style.
Leah Williamson has apparently evolved from being the dribble defender to that defender who is focusing on her position and playing those passes, thus focusing more on trying to be a deep-lying playmaker. The club might have opted to capitalise on her strengths in ball distribution, as this reduces the physical demands laid on her before the injury.
Apparently before the injury Leah averaged a 0.5 dribble rate per 90 minutes, but she’s now only averaging 0.1. It is suggested that from her ACL injury, her confidence and sharpness in high-intensity movement might have just been affected. Well, and as she’s resorted to playing them, it seems she’s really getting better at them, as stats suggest, over the seasons.
Her average passing stats are as follows:
2014-15: 67.5 passing accuracy
2022-23: 79.9 passing accuracy
2023-24: 87.1 passing accuracy
2024-25: 89.0 passing accuracy
Other than not looking to dribble, Leah Williamson is also not quick to make those tackles and also doesn’t intercept the ball to win it back like she used to. She’s, as per Pitch News, become the calm defender.
That said, the great thing about this new Leah is that she’s having more touches of the ball, given how key she’s become in Arsenal’s build-up play.
It is great that Leah is back and didn’t suffer re-injury. Yes, she received some criticism early this season, but with her performance, she responded well to that. She’s slowly returning to being a very important cog in this Arsenal team, and we should love her for that, and we do!
What are your thoughts on Leah’s improvement since coming back from injury?
Michelle M
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