The second reason why it was a risk worth taking is because of the value in having Williamson out there, even if not for a whole game. The impact she made against Lyon was evident, particularly in possession. Williamson adds another dimension to what Arsenal can do on the ball because of her passing range from deep, with her brilliant at playing effective long balls forward to spark the Gunners into life in the final third out of nothing.
On Sunday, she completed 20 accurate passes in the opposition’s half and played 13 passes into the final third, including one key pass. In Arsenal’s last four games, all of which Williamson was absent for, their centre-backs have struggled to make that sort of impact in possession.
Indeed, in that time, only Wubben-Moy’s performance in the FA Cup defeat to Brighton has produced those kinds of numbers. In the other three games, no Arsenal centre-back made a key pass, played more than 20 accurate passes in the opposition’s half or played more than nine passes into the final third.
“Leah Williamson gives you this, she wants to play the threaded passes through the lines,” Fran Kirby, her former England team-mate, noted for BBC Sport. “She sees the space opening up and she’s so, so good at it.”
