The 24-year-old has arrived in north London from Manchester United with a bit of a point to prove after an underwhelming 2022-23 campaign
When you are England’s No.9, there is pressure. Your job is to score goals and if you are not doing that, then questions will be asked. That's exactly what happened with Alessia Russo last season, the striker netting only 10 goals despite Manchester United achieving a second-placed finish in the Women's Super League, the highest in the club's history, and pushing Chelsea all the way in a title race that went to the final day.
It was a World Cup year and yet the Lionesses' starting centre-forward wasn't the top-scoring Englishwoman in the WSL. That was Rachel Daly. She wasn't second in that list, either. That was Bethany England. Russo was third, sharing that position with team-mate Leah Galton, a winger who had not only matched her 10 goals but also bettered her one assist with four.
It's no wonder many called for Daly to lead the line for the Lionesses in Australia. After all, the Aston Villa star netted 22 times in as many games for a team that finished fifth in the table, picking up the league's Golden Boot and the Player of the Year awards as a result. But England boss Sarina Wiegman kept faith in Russo, and it was repaid when she scored in the quarter-finals and semi-finals to help her country reach a first ever Women's World Cup final.
Wiegman isn't the only coach with big belief in the 24-year-old, either. In January, Arsenal made a bid that, if accepted, would've made the United striker the most expensive female footballer of all time – despite her only having six months left on her contract. This was a player that Gunners boss Jonas Eidevall wanted a lot.
It took a few months longer than he would've hoped, but with Russo joining the London club on a free this summer, the Arsenal coach has her in his squad now ahead of the 2023-24 WSL season, which kicks-off on Sunday. That Russo goes into this campaign with three goals to her name already this term is a sign that she's going to have a more prolific season, too…
Getty ImagesEarning Arsenal's admiration
Arsenal have wanted to bring Russo to the club for a long time. Under former head coach, Joe Montemurro, the Gunners were close to snapping up the England forward but, long story short, the interference of the Covid-19 pandemic eventually led to her moving to Manchester in 2020 instead.
That said, this is not a club signing. Arsenal would not put a world-record bid on the table if this was not a player that Eidevall didn't want and didn't envisage fitting his system like a glove. Indeed, this a player that the Gunners boss clearly believes is the perfect centre-forward for how he wants to play.
Russo holds the ball up well, she is technically superb and her ability to press from the front suits Arsenal's style to a tee. She's capable of much more than the 10 goals she had to her name last season, that is for sure.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesAdjusting to Eidevall's ideas
That said, there are ways that Russo will need to adjust in order to be a success at Arsenal. She is capable of making runs off the shoulder and being a penalty box presence, especially with her excellent aerial ability and wonderful first-time finishes. The former United star has a real tendency to drop into deeper positions and get involved in the build-up play, though, rather than being the focal point that Eidevall will want her to be.
After all, there's a reason why Vivianne Miedema, the all-time top scorer in the WSL, has found a home in the No.10 role in Eidevall's system. She thrived as a striker under Montemurro, but has so often described herself as “a nine-and-a-half” because of the way she, too, drops deep and gets involved, albeit in a much different way to Russo.
Instead, Eidevall has used different players as a No.9 during his tenure in north London. Sweden striker Stina Blackstenius assumed the majority of the responsibility in that role last season, but others have also played there, such as versatile forward Caitlin Foord and midfielder Frida Maanum, with there previously no natural option to take Blackstenius out of the firing line when she needed a rest.
Russo will offer that now, but will need to adapt and learn to lead the line in the way that Eidevall wants, too.
Getty ImagesPlaying with Miedema
Part of why that adaptation will be important is because when Miedema returns from her ACL injury and is playing in the same team at Russo, Eidevall will want them working in tandem rather than stepping on each other's toes.
The pair have the making of a wonderful duo, with Miedema's creativity in that No.10 role and knowledge of what a centre-forward wants in a pass sure to give Russo a ton of chances in front of goal if she can stay in the higher positions and make the right runs.
Add in the quality of set-piece takers in this Arsenal team and the number of wide players who can whip in excellent crosses – think Katie McCabe, Steph Catley and the soon-to-return Beth Mead – and Russo, who scored a late winner with her head for United at the Emirates last November, can score plenty of goals for the Gunners.
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Getty ImagesEarly signs are good
It's clear already that Russo can adjust, too. On her Arsenal debut in September, a 3-0 win over Linkoping in Women's Champions League qualifying, she wasn't on the scoresheet, but she was on the end of a number of chances and linked up well with plenty of her new team-mates.
The 24-year-old did drop deep a fair bit, but that created space for others to run into, with midfielder Kim Little benefitting from this a lot. Perhaps Miedema can even profit from Russo's tendency to come into the midfield without the need to completely eradicate that trait from the England star's game. That's one for Eidevall to think about.
In her second outing in Arsenal colours, Russo then showed that clinical touch that was missing from her debut. Coming off the bench against Paris FC, she started the Gunners' comeback from 2-0 down with her first goal for the club before Jen Beattie's stoppage-time equaliser took the game to extra-time. There, Russo came to the rescue, levelling things in the 116th minute after the French club had taken the lead once more.
Russo, along with Maanum, did miss her penalty in the decisive shootout, but Arsenal's premature Women's Champions League exit was by no means on her. Instead, her two games in the unsuccessful qualifying phase showed a lot of positives, especially so soon after she had featured prominently in England's World Cup campaign.