Football latest – England, Leicester, Women’s Champions League

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport senior women’s football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

England captain Leah Williamson, who missed last season’s Women’s Champions League qualification stages with Arsenal after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, hopes they can put that disappointment behind them and progress this time around.

“I think last year was a hurtful situation,” she said. “We were left to regret that for the rest of the year. Everyone knows what it feels like to lose and nobody wants to feel that again.

“I think we’re ready and everyone knows what it means. There will certainly be nobody going on the pitch not wanting to win.

“We’ve obviously underperformed [previously]. There’s been a number of teams at the top of the game that try to take trophies off each other.

“It doesn’t always go your way. I don’t think we’ve been that far away. I feel we’re getting closer. I’m enjoying the way we play. [The level] does need to go up but I don’t think we’re too far away.”

Having triumphed in 2007, Arsenal remain the only English club to win the Women’s Champions League and Williamson says a club “of this stature and investment” should progress.

However, she admitted the Gunners have no given right to be there and must perform.

“If you go off paper you would expect us to be there, everyone expects us to be there, and we expect that of ourselves,” said Williamson, 27.

“The Emirates Stadium provides a stage for those occasions which is good for women’s football but it’s not about that, it’s about who comes through and puts in the performances. We came up short last year.”