It seems strange to think now, but the start of the summer was not exactly a happy one for Leah Williamson. Having led the WSL for most of the season, her Arsenal side were pipped to the title Chelsea in the final day of the season in what she looks back on now as a draining experience.
“Yeah at the end of last season, because it came down to the wire and we missed out by the finest of margins, it hurt me a lot," she tells football.london . "I think it tired me."
What came next though was something she and the whole country will never forget.
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Williamson fights a losing battle as she attempts to keep a smile from creeping across her face when she recalls lifting the Euros trophy in July to bring England's 56-year wait for major international silverware to a close.
“I’m dreading the day I don’t think about it at least once," she says. "I’m a big softy. I like fairytale endings and it was very fitting for that tournament on home soil at Wembley so you couldn’t have really written it much better.”
Since then Williamson's profile has shot up stratospherically. Her and fellow Arsenal Lioness Beth Mead are among the two most recognisable faces in the country and while she admits it has taken some getting used to, the 25-year-old views the increased attention as the culmination of what she and her teammates have been striving for.
“It’s a nice moment every time it happens when you are recognised or people double-take because what we have always wanted is to grow the game and have that visibility," she says. "The attention we are all getting has obviously gone up a fair bit. People who never really knew we existed are now recognising our faces. That’s changed.
"I’ve stayed away from it as much as possible because I wanted to manage my own emotions and re-focus I support on the job in hand. The craziness is just the attention and how many people know our faces. It’s hard sometimes but it’s a good thing for the game and it’s what we’ve always wanted.”
One of the most positive side-effects of the improved profile the women's game now has after the Euros is in the increase in ticket sales. Arsenal's season curtain raiser with Brighton at Meadow Park on Friday is already a sell-out, while the Gunners are on course to break the WSL attendance record having already sold 40,000 tickets for next Saturday's North London Derby with Tottenham at the Emirates.
In her post-match interview following the Euros final played out in front of a fully packed Wembley Stadium, Williamson delivered an impassioned plea to supporters to carry on the momentum by turning out to support their local sides this season. She's delighted that that seems to have made an impact so far, but the 25-year-old is by no means ready to rest on her laurels yet.
“It’s the most important thing," she says of maintaining the increased attendances. "We spoke about it when we were away. We won the final game so obviously in terms of doing everything we could to help the women’s game we did. We gave everything we had and were successful. That’s the role of not just the fans but those working in women’s football. We all have to be as motivated as each other to take advantage of what happened.
"That Euros fever is still very much alive and I hope it’s not just going to be a summer thing. It’s up to us within the game and those working around it to make it visible. It’s about making it as much an experience as the summer was so people want to come week-in-week-out and we keep those attendances as high as possible."
For now though, Williamson's primary focus will be on replicating her international success at club level. She has already held several conversations with manager Jonas Eidevall as he seeks to get her refocused. Having come so close to ending Chelsea's three-year stranglehold on the WSL title last season though, the England captain is now more motivated than ever to get the job done this time around.
"To be successful has given me a bit of fire back in my belly before the season and now I’m looking forward to starting a new journey so to speak," she says defiantly. "I’ve definitely got my motivation back and once you get a taste of winning you obviously want more.”
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