The striker will be frustrated she didn't score against Manchester City on Sunday, but her performances for the Gunners suggest improvements
There was a moment on Sunday when it looked like Alessia Russo was primed to grab the equaliser Arsenal were chasing in their Women's Super League opener against Manchester City. Brought on as a substitute just after the hour mark, with the score 2-1 to the visitors, it was 10 minutes later that the England star found herself through on goal and with all the time in the world to pick her spot.
Yet, to the frustration of herself as well as most inside the Emirates Stadium, it was an opportunity that ended with Russo throwing her hands to her face almost bewildered by her own decision-making.
It was a great ball over the top by Emily Fox that found Russo, one which completely caught out City centre-back Alanna Kennedy. By the time Russo latched onto the pass, her marker was a good five yards behind her, another covering defender, Kerstin Casparij, had too much ground to make up and Ayaka Yamashita, the City goalkeeper, couldn't decide whether to race out or not. The Arsenal striker was through.
Yet, despite the space and time she had, Russo seemed to panic. As she reached the edge of the box, she fired a tame shot into the grateful arms of Yamashita, spurning a golden opportunity to level the scores. Her reaction showed that she knew what a big chance it was and that she couldn't believe she hadn't taken it.
Fortunately, in the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter so much. A few minutes later, Beth Mead got the goal to level the scores at 2-2, with the spoils shared between two sides expected to battle for the WSL title. However, it was a reminder that, despite being the first-choice No.9 for both Arsenal and England, Russo is very much still a work in progress when it comes to fulfilling her potential in the role.
Getty ImagesUps and downs
Similar reminders were also on show last week, when Arsenal suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Hacken in the first leg of their Champions League second-round qualifier. There were flashes of what Russo does so well – playing with her back to goal, getting shots off when defenders don't expect them, picking up good positions – but none of that resulted in a goal that Arsenal's dominance suggested they would find.
On the contrary, her performances in the first round of qualifying were much more encouraging. Against Rangers, Russo didn't have a lot of space to operate in, as the Scottish side spent most of the game defending, but she worked incredibly hard and got a goal her effort deserved. A few days later, against Rosenborg, she was unlucky not to be on the scoresheet again, hitting the woodwork twice in a bright display.
How sharp she has looked in the first few weeks of the Gunners' campaign, and also on their U.S. pre-season tour, was what made Sunday's chance stand out even more, really. After plenty of positive signs, this was just a little reminder of how there is still work to be done.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesOn a journey
Russo can often prompt polarising opinions from fans, be they supporters of Arsenal, England or someone else entirely. Some are in the camp with Gunners head coach Jonas Eidevall, believing that she can become a 20-goal striker. Others are sceptical about whether that is possible.
As with most things in sport, the truth of where she is at in her bid to hit such expectations is somewhere in the middle. While some of Russo's performances show that she really does have the potential to get there – her wonderful goal-poaching against the Washington Spirit last month was a great piece of evidence – she's still on a journey to being that player consistently.
In the same way that her highs shouldn't fool anyone into thinking she is the finished product, the lows shouldn't be used to summarise her whole game either.
Getty ImagesChanging her game
What Eidevall would likely say about Sunday is that it was good to see Russo in that position, one-on-one with Yamashita, and that it is encouraging that she has been in those goal-scoring positions several times through the start of Arsenal's season. That might sound like faint praise but, as anyone who has watched the striker for a few years will know, it's a really positive part of her recent growth.
"What is important with Alessia is developing and playing and the goal-scoring positions she increasingly finds herself in," he explained this summer. "I think as a forward, that should be your aim all the time, to be in the right positions, because if you are, the goals come as a consequence. I said early on that her finishing ability is the best that I have ever worked with. If she is getting enough goal-scoring opportunities, goals are sure to happen. I think you see this summer, with the Lionesses as well, that she gets into those positions more frequently now and that is going to be important for us and also for Alessia."
It was something that Eidevall elaborated on further when speaking to ahead of the Gunners' pre-season friendly with Chelsea. "If you've seen her game in the past, I think she's been quite a drifting forward," he added. "She's been out a lot on the flanks, working balls. I know Sarina [Wiegman] has worked with her in that in England and I'm working with her in that at Arsenal to be in more central positions, be more often in what we call the 'goal zone', and she manages to do that more often and that leads to her being involved in more goal-scoring opportunities. That, combined with her finishing ability, obviously results in scoring more goals as well."
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Getty ImagesImproving her numbers
It certainly felt like Russo made progress in a positioning sense through last season – and the numbers back it up. In the WSL, the averages of all of her key metrics in this respect were up in the second half of Arsenal's season compared to the first – those being touches in the opposition's box, total shots, shots on target, expected goals (xG) and goals. She was outperforming her xG from January onwards as well, having underperformed with regards to it in the first half the campaign. That's a testament to the work done by herself, Eidevall, Wiegman and other members of Arsenal and England's coaching staff, like Kelly Smith, the Gunners' icon who has been helping Russo a lot since joining Eidevall's team.
“We work with the positioning and making sure you get into those situations more often, by having the right position and the right angle and making the most out of it," the Arsenal boss explained last season, offering an insight into how he and his staff are trying to help Russo become more of a fox in the box.
"The amount of touches you get as a No.9 is, in most teams, the most limited amount of touches for all the outfield players. It is not about increasing those touches, it is about increasing the quality of those touches. That is generally what you need to work on with forward players. Everyone would like the ball a bit more, but the reality in football is that area is going to be more restricted. You will have fewer touches so it is about dealing with that reality, having fewer touches and not getting impatient and going towards the ball in the wrong moment, but instead anticipating the right moment.”
That's also something that shows in the numbers, as Russo's average total touches decreased as the 2023-24 WSL season went on, despite her average touches in the opposition's box increasing.