Alessia Russo believes there’s nothing better than a big night under the lights at Emirates Stadium as the forward looks to continue her goalscoring form in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
The England international has seven goals in eight games in this year’s competition, just one goal off her tally for the whole of the 2024/25 season, which saw us lift the trophy for a second time in our history.
We face Chelsea in the quarter-finals, and Alessia is excited to host our London rivals in the first leg tomorrow night.
When asked about why she loves playing in the UWCL so much, she said: “I’m not sure I’ve thought too much into it, but I think you come up against so many different styles of teams in the Champions League and I love that.
“I love diving into different styles of football and playing against different kinds of systems. So I think that’s something that I really enjoy in the Champions League. I came to Arsenal for these Champions League nights and I just feel really grateful to play in them. Every player in our team will say that Champions League nights under the lights are really one thing that they look forward to.”
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Alessia has shown her versatility across the front line this season, picking up 15 goals in all competitions.
“I’m just enjoying football,” she said in our pre-match press conference. “We’ve got so many great players that I get to play with week in, week out. When you get to this point of the season, you’re used to playing with everyone, you know what you’re going to get from your teammates and how you can best set them up in different areas.
“I think the whole team in general is in a really good place. Training is fun and we’re performing well in the games as well. Hopefully that continues, but I’m feeling good and confident and very happy in this team.”
There will be a few familiar faces in the Chelsea side that Russo will know from her international duties with England, but the forward said that is all put to one side when we go head-to-head over two legs.
She said: “We’ve looked at a lot of things that can try and break Chelsea down. We’re very aware that they’re a top side and used to competing at the highest level, but so are we. So we’re prepared, feeling good, we’ve had a good few days of diving into them and looking at where we can hurt them – but also being ready for what they’re going to offer, too.
“Obviously we had an amazing season last year in the Champions League and won it previously as well. I feel grateful that Arsenal have that history. But it’s now a new season, times change and all our focus is on doing it again.
“We love that feeling of winning the trophy in Lisbon. I think every player will say they want to experience that all over again and it’s not easy. We’re proud of what we’ve done in the past, but now we just want to do it all over again.”
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