Leah Williamson was left with mixed emotions following our 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.
On one hand, immense pride as a lifelong Gooner to lead the team out as captain. But on the other, disappointment that the visitors left with all three points.
We spoke to Williamson after the game - and here’s what she had to say:
on the team’s performance…
I see it as a game where we were good in the first half and had a good spell in the second half, but ultimately our errors were probably the reason why we didn’t win. I had one with the first goal, stuff like that, so just little differences and they’ve come out more dominant than us today.
on why we failed to create many chances, despite having so much possession…
I’m not sure. I think our distances got a bit long and we tried to play too long, too quick, too early. I think if we tried to progress a bit slower up the pitch, then we could maybe move up the pitch together because otherwise you end up isolating people up top. That was the same story as when we played Chelsea, we had all the possession but didn’t create that many chances. Maybe it’s just a thought for us to have. There weren’t many opportunities that came about.
on the second goal we conceded…
Yeah, it was frustrating. Football is all about those moments. You make a judgement to hold back when you should have gone forward or whatever when you’re defending, and you can overanalyse certain situations when you just need to put your body in the way. We’d just seen off a couple of chances before that with a couple of good blocks, so I thought maybe we’d ridden out the storm, but obviously not. It’s disappointing but it’s good character from the girls and it’s nothing we can’t be proud of. It’s not like it wasn’t a good performance, but those are the differences and that’s what makes top teams great and leaves the others behind.
on her pride for wearing the captain’s armband…
Yeah, it’s something I think any fan… I’m even getting emotional… any fan of the club would be so proud to do, let alone being a player. I’m very aware that I live out the dream of every Arsenal fan every single day, so it’s very proud for me and for my family.
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