Alessia Russo will play in her first Champions League knockout game on Tuesday evening in Madrid and the player says her and her teammates cannot win to play in this occasion. Russo joined the club in the summer of 2023 but the Gunners were eliminated in the preliminary round in her first season.
Russo is keen to make up for lost time, as she told Arseblog News in the pre-match press conference in Madrid. ‘I’m really excited. I was just saying to Renee it’s my first quarter-final in the Champions League, so I’m really looking forward to it. The squad’s in a good place. We had a positive result on Friday and we’ve seen a lot of each other this week and traveling and playing games but we’re in a good place as a team.’
One player Russo has leaned on this season, but especially this week, is Mariona Caldentey, the Spain international who signed from Barcelona last summer and has extra motivation for this clash, which Russo says has not gone unnoticed.
‘She is definitely a Barcelona fan! Since she’s come I feel like I learned a lot off her too. She’s a world class player and person too. If you need anything she’s there and I like to talk football with her because she comes from a completely different style and culture of football than I have grown up with in England. But You can see our qualities all over the pitch and I really enjoy playing with her.’
Alessia is on course for her best season in terms of goal scoring and asked by a Spanish journalist what is behind her improvement, Russo says it’s simple. ‘I’m just enjoying my football. I’ve said it before and I always play my best football when I’m happy and I’m enjoying the games.
‘At the moment I just can’t wait for the games to come around and especially nights like tomorrow night. I just feel happy and valued within the team which is always nice and I’m just trying to get the best out of myself to see how I can get the best out of others too.’
Arsenal remain the only British team to have won the competition, as they did in 2007 and Russo says the current squad take that legacy seriously. ‘When you come and you sign for Arsenal, you understand the legacy of the club and the history of their successes in winning trophies and I want to be a part of that with this club. I want to keep pushing and keep winning trophies there’s nothing like winning a trophy with your team.’
She says she has not focused on any specific areas to boost her output this season. ‘I always try and work on things throughout the season and just throughout time in general. I still feel like there’s lots that I want to work on and lots that I want to keep getting better at.
‘I feel like in the nine I probably didn’t understand to begin with how much work and how much there is to learn through the position and I think the older you get the clever you get with the position in the sense that, it’s all tiny moments and fine margins. I’m enjoying myself. I’m enjoying learning and I want to keep working hard.’
Arsenal will hope the enjoyment continues in Madrid on Tuesday. The game kicks off at 5.45pm UK time and will be shown live on the DAZN YouTube channel and on TNT Sports in the UK.