Leah Williamson is staying! Lionesses captain set to renew expiring Arsenal contract and extend 20-year stay with the Gunners

Speculation aplenty has circulated around Arsenal's first-team this season, and especially since the turn of the year, because of how many senior players were set to become free agents this summer. The club has been making steady progress on renewals in recent weeks, though, after also announcing a new deal for head coach Renee Slegers in January.

Captain Kim Little signed a new one-year agreement in March, striker Stina Blackstenius put pen-to-paper on a new deal last week and renewed terms for defender Steph Catley were then announced on Tuesday morning. Now, Williamson is primed to join the trio in extending her stay in north London, with the Athletic reporting that the England international is also set to renew.

It's important business for Arsenal to get done. Williamson might not have been a central figure in the Gunners' season so far, but that is because of injuries rather than anything else. After sustaining a knee problem while leading England to glory at last summer's European Championships, the defender was sidelined until December. She then picked up a calf issue in January and just recently returned from a hamstring problem.

But her importance to this team was very evident in that first game back in Arsenal colours, with her quality and effectiveness in possession shining through in last weekend's Champions League semi-final first leg win over Lyon. This has been a rare injury-hit season for Williamson, whose only comparable campaign came after a devastating ACL injury in April 2023. Otherwise, she has been consistently available, extremely important to the way Arsenal play and a big character for this team, as well as a top quality defender.

Arsenal fans will be glad to see the club making significant in-roads on the long list of out-of-contract players, with the renewals of Little, Blackstenius and Catley all coming in the last month or so, and this news of Williamson's following arriving hot on the heels of that business.

There are still some situations that remain unresolved, though. It was announced last week that goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger, who has missed most of this season with an ACL injury, will be leaving when her contract expires in the summer, but there is still no official news on Katie McCabe, Beth Mead, Victoria Pelova, Caitlin Foord or Laia Codina, all of whom are also set to become free agents in a few weeks' time.

Widespread reports have indicated for several weeks that McCabe will be leaving, despite her being a very important player both this season and for most of her decade in north London. The most recent story on her future came from the Athletic on Monday, which suggested that both she and Mead could be heading to Manchester City, the Women's Super League leaders.

Off the back of that, Arseblog reported that the Gunners would not like to lose both Mead and Foord in the same summer, such is the impact it would have on the team's wide options, though there is no news on a new contract for Foord as of yet. Pelova and Codina, meanwhile, have struggled for regular minutes this season and it would not be a surprise to see them move on for greater game time.

While also focusing on who and who not to offer fresh terms to, Arsenal's decision makers have also been busy looking at incomings for the summer. England international Georgia Stanway, who has already announced she will be leaving Bayern Munich this summer, is widely understood to be arriving on a free transfer, as is Barcelona full-back Ona Batlle.

Stanway would help to reinforce the depth in midfield, which would be impacted if Pelova leaves, while Batlle would help make up for the exit of McCabe. The Spain international is right-footed so has largely operated as a right-back but she can also play on the left.