With 20 goals in all competitions, one Women’s Champions League trophy and success at Euro 2025, last season couldn’t have gone much better for Alessia Russo.

Our forward opened her WSL account in a 1-1 draw away to Manchester United in November, before scoring the fifth and final goal of our 5-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion from the penalty spot.

The first north London derby of the season got off to a flying start thanks to her second-minute opener at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the following brace against Aston Villa helped us to a 4-0 victory at Emirates Stadium, one of which was deemed to be the WSL Goal of the Month for December.

 

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Russo’s stunning strike against Aston Villa

Also that month, in a tight encounter away to Liverpool, Russo’s was the only goal of the game as we earned a 1-0 win on Merseyside, before she was among the goals again in a 5-0 win over Crystal Palace at Borehamwood. She ended 2024 by scooping the WSL Player of the Month award for December, as well as our club award.

 

February saw Russo score again against Spurs, this time in a 5-0 rout at home, followed by a brace away to Everton during a 3-1 win in March. She picked up two more Player of the Month awards at this time, as she continued to impress our supporters with her displays in front of goal.

A strike away at Aston Villa saw her end the campaign with 20 strikes to her name and a share of the WSL Golden Boot. Further accolades came her way as she was named the Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year in May.

 

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The best stats from Russo’s first two years

Alessia played a vital role in our historic Champions League journey too. That began with one of the goals in our 6-0 win over Rangers in the first qualifying round.

In the group stage, she scored the final goal of Renée Slegers’ first game in charge – a 4-1 victory over Valerenga – as well as a brace away to the Norwegian side.

We went 2-1 down to Bayern Munich in the final group game following Magdalena Eriksson’s 58th-minute effort, but Russo levelled the scoring moments later to send us on our way to a 3-2 win.

 

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Quickfire comeback | Arsenal Women 3-0 Real Madrid | 2024/25

In the knockout stages, Real Madrid had us 2-0 down on aggregate halfway through the second leg of the quarter-finals, but an inspired team talk saw us come flying out of the traps at the start of the second half, Russo netting twice during a 14-minute period of three goals to turn the tie around.

After giving us a three-goal lead away to Lyon in the second leg of the semi-finals, Russo was fully deserving of a winner’s medal in Lisbon, where we beat Barcelona in the final. Her exploits during the tournament also saw her added to the Team of the Tournament.

Then, on the international stage, Russo struck England’s fourth in a 6-1 win over Wales, before netting the equaliser in July’s 1-1 draw with Spain in the final, with the Lionesses going on to win 3-1 on penalties. She was again named in the competition’s Best XI before starting this season with the news that she’d signed a new contract to keep her in north London for years to come.

 

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Alessia Russo: Hungry for more