Walton Hall Park Stadium, England 28th April 2024: Leah Williamson (6 Arsenal) during the Barclays Women Super League between Everton and Arsenal at Walton Hall Park Stadium in Liverpool, England 28th April 2024 | Photo: Jayde Chamberlain/SPP. Jayde Chamberlain/SPP (Jayde Chamberlain/SPP)
Renee Slegers says that Leah Williamson is “ready to start” for Arsenal in the Barclays Women’s Super League after her staggered return from injury over recent months.
In her press conference ahead of Saturday’s match against Manchester United, the head coach confirmed: “She looks really good. So of course we built her in nicely last block. With a couple of games she came on, and then she started against Crystal Palace [in the Subway Women’s League Cup quarter-final], which wasn’t an easy game from other perspectives – the physicality and conditions.
“She’s ready to start. She looks really good. She’s had a good break and came back really sharp. So it’s really good to see in terms of her leadership.
“We all know what Leah brings on the pitch. She’s really clever and can solve situations, can see situations, can communicate the situations.
“But also off the pitch, she’s of course been at the club for so long. She has Arsenal in her heart. So she has that perspective, which is very special, which we really want to embrace, everything that has been before us, and then we have the here and now and the future, which she’s really invested in as well.”
Slegers: The Arsenal squad looks good
In other team news for the game, she added: “Of course, we said we wanted to maximise the time that we got coming back in because it’s a short period of preparation. The squad looks really, really good.
“From a fitness perspective, Chloe [Kelly] is still not available. Daphne [van Domselaar] is really close, but still not available.”
Slegers went on to say that Jenna Nighswonger – who has made only one substitute appearance for the team this season – would not be in the squad and is “close to a loan move”.
Slegers also confirmed that Kyra Cooney-Cross would not be available for the foreseeable future as she has returned to Australia to be with her family after her mother received a diagnosis of serious illness.
