Leah Williamson said it "means everything" to reach 200 club appearances for Arsenal during their 1-0 win over Everton in the WSL.
Williamson reached her double century after two months out of action with a foot injury, when she came off the bench in the 69th minute. As she replaced Jen Beattie, Williamson was given a superb ovation from the Arsenal faithful at a packed Meadow Park.
The Gunners stay in the WSL title hunt after picking up three points thanks to a superb finish from Vivianne Miedema after 24 minutes in a game they largely dominated from the off. Although the win was the primary target, manager Jonas Eidevall was given the extra boost by seeing his skipper back in a red shirt following her layoff.
"It means everything to me," she said. "I'm very proud to get to 200, but I'm very grateful as well.
"Thinking about it, I'm 25 years old and I've been out (injured) for the accumulation of what feels like three years as well. It feels like I've been here forever, but for sure 200 appearances is a really nice milestone to get to.
"The girls have been great while I've been out, so I just want to keep building on what they have been doing. After the loss to United (two weeks ago) we wanted to come back and start again really.
"I felt way off the pace when I first came back to training to be honest, but that was great because it means the team is firing. Hopefully, I'm catching up now."
Despite having been missing for a such significant chunk of the season so far, Williamson showed no signs of ring rust in her 20-minute cameo. Everton threw everything forward in the dying minutes but Williamson was composed under pressure and made some important clearances to relieve the pressure.
Arsenal could have won by a greater margin but Everton goalkeeper Emily Ramsey made a string of excellent saves in the second half, the most notable falling to Caitlin Foord, Frida Maanum and Lotte Wubben-Moy. The win allows them to maintain pace with Chelsea and Manchester United at the top of the WSL, who both recorded big victories today.
Williamson revealed that although she was disappointed to have missed out on big games in recent weeks, the England captain believes she needed a rest after leading her country to European Championship glory in the summer.
"I think it may have needed the rest," she added. "I wasn't in the best place and thought 'I need to get something out of this time.
"I've tried to use the injury to the best of my advantage if that makes sense. I've now got myself back on track which is great."
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