Leah Williamson sends touching message to England team-mate Beth Mead after Arsenal star bags first goals since ACL return

Mead scored her first goals since suffering an ACL injury a year ago when she curled in to extend her team's advantage in the eighteenth minute and added a second from close range four minutes before the half to make it 3-0. Williamson, her Arsenal and England team-mate, sent her a message on Twitter after the match. The Arsenal captain mentioned Mead's late mother in the moving post, which read: "We knew it was coming today @bmeado9. June would of enjoyed that one."

Mead lost her mother in January of this year after she lost her battle with cancer. Earlier this month, Mead also discussed her struggle with depression since June's passing and opened up on how tough her recovery from a serious injury was mentally.

Mead also earned her first call-up for England on Monday since returning from an 11-month injury absence. Mead had headlined the Lionesses' Euros triumph in the summer of 2022 but missed their run to the final in the Women's World Cup in Australia.

While Williamson is still out injured and will not return until 2024, Mead will continue to take centre stage with Arsenal as they remain three points adrift of leaders Chelsea in the Women’s Super League table. They will get the chance to close that gap when they play host to the Blues on December 10.