Alessia Russo exclusive: Winning the Champions League alongside Arsenal 'sisters' would mean so much
Sat in the sunshine at Arsenal's training ground, Alessia Russo has a beaming smile on her face and that is no surprise given the season she has enjoyed.
Russo was the top scorer in the Women's Super League, winning the Golden Boot for the first time in her career, and has also picked up the Football Writers' Association award for Women's Footballer of the Year.
'I will always want more, though,' Russo tells Standard Sport. 'I want to score more, create more, help the team in as many ways as possible. This is a good start, but I want to keep progressing.'
Personal accolades are one thing, but Russo's biggest desire is to win trophies and Saturday provides her with the perfect opportunity to do so.
Arsenal take on Barcelona in the final of the Women's Champions League and Renee Slegers' side are out to make history.
Only once before have the Gunners won the competition and that was all the way back in 2007, when Russo was just eight years old.
'I don't think anything tops winning a trophy as a team,' says Russo. 'When you go through a long journey with your team-mates, who feel like sisters, winning a trophy means so much.
'We know what we are coming up against, probably the best team in the world - but this is where we want to be.
'As Arsenal, we want to take this club back to finals, back to where it belongs, and we really want to go out there and compete. It's a final, anything can happen.'
Arsenal have defied the odds repeatedly during their Champions League run.
In the quarter-finals, they knocked out Real Madrid despite losing the first leg in Spain 2-0. They produced another comeback in the semi-finals, beating Lyon 4-1 away from home after losing 2-1 at Emirates Stadium the week before.
Holders Barcelona in the final will be their toughest task, though, given the Spanish side are the holders and have won the Champions League in three of the past four seasons.
In the semi-finals this season, Barca dismantled domestic treble-winners Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate.
'Their history speaks for itself, what they have won, the players they have got,' says Russo. 'But we have performed at a really high level this year as well.
'The journey we have been on in this European run has been really exciting and everyone has performed in big moments. We are just locked in on this mission.'
Russo will have a key role to play if Arsenal are to pull off a shock.
The striker believes this season is the best of her career and the 26-year-old puts it down to the way she has developed her game.
Legendary striker Kelly Smith, part of the Arsenal squad that won the Champions League in 2007, has helped as a member of the coaching staff. With 130 goals in 156 games for Arsenal - and more than 100 England caps, too - there are few better people for Russo to learn from.
'Kelly doesn't say a lot, but when she does you really listen,' says Russo. 'Before, I was a little bit more naive and wanted to get out of position to get on the ball, maybe drifting wide and too deep.
'I understand the importance of staying away more now, staying central, between the goalposts, being a problem for the centre-halves and just making sure I am there when I need to be.
'I am happy to have scored a lot more this season, but I want to keep pushing. I don't think as a striker you are ever satisfied with how many goals you score.'
Russo has shone in attack alongside Mariona Caldentey, who has been a revelation since joining Arsenal from Barcelona in the summer.
Caldentey was named Player of the Season in the WSL this month and, like Russo, she has scored seven goals during Arsenal's run to the Champions League final.
'She is world class,' says Russo. 'From the first training session, I knew how good she was. She's a special player. She is super technical, wants the ball everywhere and can create things out of nothing. When you play with her, you want to get her on the ball. She delivers every week, her performances this year have been incredible.'
Russo admits the Arsenal squad have been picking Caldentey's brain this week as they prepare to face her old club.
Laia Codina, who left Barcelona for Arsenal two summers ago, has also been tapped up.
'It's important to have a player's input. They both know a lot of those players inside out,' says Russo. 'It will definitely help us.'
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New York Times
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Looking ahead to when the games begin again in August, Saka's place in the team may be the only one of the three to be considered safe as Arsenal look to significantly enhance their options. The Athletic has reported their interest in Rodrygo and Nico Williams, as well as Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon. Here, we assess what each of those players could offer Arteta's side and how they compare to the attackers already at his disposal. Arsenal were also strong contenders for Leroy Sane, but on Wednesday, we reported the Germany forward is looking for a new challenge at Galatasaray in Turkey once his Bayern Munich contract expires at the end of this month. With over 250 Real Madrid appearances to his name, Rodrygo is the most high profile of these three prospective signings. Arteta and his coaching staff are fans of the player, who has three years left on his existing contract. The Brazil international is still yet to speak to new Madrid manager Xabi Alonso about his situation, but, per sources who wish to remain anonymous to protect relationships, he wants to feel important wherever he plays. Just six months older than Martinelli, the 24-year-old has scored 13 and assisted nine goals in all competitions so far in Madrid's season. In the Spanish league, he scored six and assisted five. He registered 10 La Liga goals in 2023-24, but his best league campaign for goal involvements was a year earlier, when he scored nine and assisted eight. Rodrygo has played across Madrid's front line in their current campaign, but is most comfortable playing on the left or more centrally rather than on the right. That preference for the left side can be seen in that it's where he tends to create the most, with the left half-space a particularly productive area. Of the three players we are looking at in this article, Rodrygo ranks highest in chances created with 2.40 per 90 minutes, followed by Gordon on 1.99 and then Williams on 1.80. The high quality of his team-mates is an important factor in that, but the variation in the types of opportunities he produces for others will be viewed as a bonus. Advertisement Rodrygo has managed to combine with Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior with shorter passes in congested areas, like the left half-space, which, based on much of the 2024-25 season, would benefit Arsenal hugely. As they often face mid or low blocks in the Premier League, a player with more invention in tight spaces would help unlock tricky defences with more ease, as seen here: The Brazilian is also able to provide crosses from wider areas and create chances for himself by running with the ball, albeit less often than both Williams and Gordon. Now into his mid-twenties, Rodrygo has hit an age range Arteta has liked when recruiting key signings in the past. Havertz and Declan Rice were also 24 when they signed for Arsenal in 2023, while Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko were both 25 when they moved to the Emirates the previous summer. As a two-time Champions League winner, Rodrygo would represent a similar ceiling-raising shift for Arsenal as Jesus and Zinchenko were when they joined from then Premier League champions Manchester City. Arsenal have a longstanding interest in Williams. His most recent contract extension at La Liga's Athletic Club came in December 2023 and runs until June 2027. Barcelona failed in a pursuit of the Spain international winger last summer, while Aston Villa showed interest back in January 2023. Williams has since played a vital role in Spain's European Championship triumph last July, scoring against England in the final, and helped his Bilbao-based boyhood club reach this year's Europa League semi-finals. He scored 11 goals and assisted seven in all competitions in 2024-25, with five of each coming in La Liga. His most fruitful top-flight season was a year earlier, when he scored five and assisted 11. Where a player who turns 23 on July 12 stands out compared to other wingers is in his willingness to dribble. While Rodrygo attempts a similar amount of take-ons to Saka per 90, only Jamie Gittens of Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Jeremy Doku of Manchester City had more than Williams in their domestic leagues last season. Despite having a lower success rate than those players, his style would bring a different dynamic to the way Arsenal attack on the wings. Primarily playing off the left, he would provide an interesting contrast to both Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, who each attempt at least half as many take-ons as he does. The sheer volume of dribbles in comparison to Rodrygo can be seen in how often Williams carries the ball five metres or more before either creating a chance or shooting, as evidenced by his 2023-24 numbers: As is the case with his dribble success rate, there is clear room for improvement in converting those chances and shots into goals. Nonetheless, Williams causes major issues for opposition defences, and here are two examples of how he does that when running with the ball. The first is from a second leg win over Roma in the Europa League round of 16 in March, when Athletic came back from a 2-1 first leg defeat in Italy to advance. Initially, Williams pops a smart pass into midfield to keep play moving before receiving the ball again inside the box. The defender is expecting him to go around the outside, but he shifts the ball inside with his left foot, touches it past another opponent and dinks a finish over the goalkeeper. That was his second goal of the game. For the first, he arrived at the back post to apply a finishing touch, which is a theme of his wing play and which has helped him score important goals for both club and country — the Euro 2024 final included. For a more blatant example of Williams' dribbling prowess, however, below is one of his goals in a 7-1 win over Real Valladolid in February. Advertisement Here, he receives the ball on the touchline and immediately drives at his full-back. He takes a touch inside and bursts in between four defenders (two at a time), leaving one on the floor. Instead of swiping at the ball as soon as he is past them, he takes another touch around the final defender before reversing his finish past Arsenal loanee Karl Hein. 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That would suggest an element of adaptation, but he would also represent a clear gear shift in their wide attacking style. Nico Williams with an absolute beauty 🤩 He has been brilliant this tournament so far 🌟#Euro2024 | #ESPGEO — ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 30, 2024 Gordon has repeatedly punished Arsenal since signing for Newcastle United two and a half years ago. The winger scored a controversial winner in a 1-0 victory at St James' Park in November 2023, assisted an Alexander Isak winner in a match that ended with the same scoreline in October last year and scored in both legs of their Carabao Cup semi-finals meeting in January. Overall, the 2024-25 season was not his strongest. Gordon contributed nine goals and six assists in all competitions, with six goals and five assists in the league. 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That first signing, whenever it comes, will calm nerves. Caulkin: The club maintain it is 'business as usual'. Mitchell will continue to direct Newcastle's transfer policy — with Howe retaining the final say — until June 30, when Eales is expected to pick up the slack. A year in charge without making a game-changing signing would not be the glossiest entry on Mitchell's CV, but this is not driving his agenda. Newcastle's plan for this entire window is his plan, at least in part. Last summer demonstrated that having a new sporting director in place guarantees nothing. Will whoever comes in next have the same ideas about strategy and recruitment? Advertisement Waugh: Steve Nickson, head of recruitment, and Andy Howe, assistant head of recruitment, took on prominent roles in the post-Dan Ashworth interim and will be empowered again. The latter has been an influential voice since the takeover, following Eddie, his uncle, to the club from fellow Premier League side Bournemouth. Targets have been selected by the head coach. He would ideally like one or two additions before pre-season begins on July 7, and definitely before the squad leave for a training camp in Austria — by which time the true direction of their window will have become clearer.
Yahoo
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Alonso's new-look Real Madrid aiming for Club World Cup glory
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