Female Soccer Player of the Year Contender Russo

Age: 26 Position: Forward Teams: Arsenal and the English national team

Alessia Russo created a legacy with Arsenal as they emerged as the first English team to win the Women's Champions League since the North London side did in the 2000s, and also helped guide the Lionesses to the defence of their European Championship crown.

She scored in the European Championship final and hit top form for her club, making significant contributions all campaign long as an attacker and with her work off the ball.

Russo was named the FWA's top female player for last season.

Russo finished as the WSL's joint top scorer, sharing the top scorer award with Khadija Shaw.

She scored 12 league goals for the club and provided assists for a further two.

She was also nominated for the prestigious individual award and named in the Professional Footballers' Association and the Uefa Champions League teams of the year.

Russo on how she feels she has improved over the previous season:

"I play my best football when I'm enjoying myself and I know I'm training hard and I'm getting my work done, so those are aspects that I can always control.

"Numerous elements to a striker's role, it requires precision and there are tiny differences. I continue to develop. We have great coaches here at Arsenal. I have great players to learn off as well. Then when the big games come around, the greater your experience, the more comfortable you become."

On winning Euro 2025 with England:

"The whole tournament was a complete rollercoaster. It was highs and lows. It was emotionally really hard. It was taxing on our bodies.

"I remember after the Sweden [quarter-final] game, many players were extremely sore and injured. The pressure was immense. But you've got to turn it around quickly. It moves so fast.

"I think the way that we won during the event was just grit and resilience. And we were aware that we had the squad, we knew that we had the necessary qualities.

"Facing the best teams in the world, the elite athletes in the world and occasionally you have to grind out results."

Discussing the European final:

"The main emotion that I can remember from that entire occasion was just being very composed, like we were confident we'd done the work, we knew that we had the ability, and we knew that we trusted the strategy and what we aimed to achieve.

"Obviously playing against a team like Barcelona, you must accept not possessing the ball because their skill is exceptional. When they do have the ball, they retain it frequently.

"As players in the press and defensively, we were highly concentrated on our assigned tasks. There was extensive movement and plenty of defending. But in the end that's what got the job done. In my opinion you have to be content securing victories in that manner as well."

On Arsenal and England legend Kelly Smith being her idol:

"I was fortunate of seeing her play a few times with my dad. Watching her internationally, too, her talent was remarkable. I hope that she could have played longer and still be playing now, but she ranks among the greats.

"I think those who teamed up with her would say the same thing and I didn't have the chance of experiencing that. But observing her play was something that I greatly admired."

Alessia Russo scored twelve goals in twenty-one games in the WSL last season to share the Golden Boot.

She was not just one of the deadliest players in the league but she was also a constant threat in the box all season long, taking more shots (seventy-three) and recording a superior xG (9.7) than all her peers.

Russo's ability to contribute to the team outside of her goals distinguishes her.

Team-mate Mariona Caldentey regularly played forward balls into her, so effective ball retention was necessary.

Her skill to drop deep, freeing herself from her opposing defender through quick, incisive runs stood out.

If a defender got in tight, Russo used her physicality to win free-kicks, assisting the side secure the ball in the opponents' half. In the European tournament last season, nobody was drawn more fouls than the forward (15).

When the play settles, her control are extremely efficient. Her frequent scanning of her environment means she stays conscious of where rivals are.

She uses few contacts on the ball, directing it away from defenders marking closely, before finding nearby team-mates oriented forward.

By retaining the ball in tough situations, Russo is regularly able to act as an outlet for her team under pressure.

She is able turn difficult passes into long periods of stable possession and such phases in the opponent's final third result in scores, several of these she finishes personally.