Alessia Russo: 'I'm excited and happy to come into work' | OneFootball

Arsenal striker Alessia Russo has opened up about her revival of form since the appointment of head coach Renee Sleger.

The 25-year-old had failed to score in the opening eight matches of the 2024/25 campaign, before firing into gear in the closing months of 2024. Immediately following Jonas Eidevall's resignation as head coach of the Gunners, Russo wrote her name on the scoresheet in the club's 4-1 victory over Norwegian side Valerenga in the UEFA Women's Champions League.

From then on, the ball has kept hitting the back of the net. The England international has scored 11 in 14 games since Slegers took the post, firing her up to second-place in the Women's Super League (WSL) goalscoring tally.

Speaking to media last week, Russo revealed how Slegers' leadership has helped boost her confidence on the pitch.

Alessia Russo has scored 11 times in Arsenal's last 14 games / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages

"As a player you go through different spells and different things come into it, confidence or you’re not playing consistently or different things like that," she said. "Form is a thing and you have to find out what makes you tick when you feel good. For me, it also comes down to training. We spend so much time in training so I am just trying to be better every day and do what I can every day."

Russo went on to joke that she is "a pain when it comes to finishing training" asserting that she's always looking for the time and space to improve.

“Ultimately, whether you’re scoring or not, you can control how hard you’re working and what you’re doing off the ball," she added. "I think that that’s something that can keep you very balanced throughout a game and throughout the season, when you know that you’re working hard and you’re running. If ever there’s a doubt, I always believe you can work hard.”

The striker gushed about the importance of enjoyment when expressing: "I really do believe that I play better when I am enjoying it."

"Even as a kid, my happiest memories are just playing football, I love the game and I feel that at the moment I am excited and happy to come into work every day,' explained Russo. "I have always loved coming into training, I don’t call it work even though I am fortunate enough that football is work."

Despite falling to a narrow 1-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last Sunday, the Gunners have made clear improvements since the club appointed Slegers as the head coach.

Russo said the cause of the rebirth is "tough to pinpoint" but noted that "people are feeling really good".

"We are having lots of football conversations within units and groups and people seem to be really clear on their roles," she said. "You can see we’re playing with freedom within a structure and a game plan but players have got that instinctive edge to go and express themselves as well."