Women's Footballer of the Year Candidate Russo

Age: 26 Playing Role: Striker Clubs: The Gunners and England

The talented forward created a legacy with her club as they became the first English team to claim victory in the Women's Champions League since the Gunners did in 2008, and also helped guide England to the defence of their European Championship crown.

Russo found the net in the Euro 2025 final and found her groove for her club, making significant contributions throughout the season in front of goal and with her work off the ball.

Russo was honored as the FWA's top female player for the previous campaign.

Russo finished as the WSL's joint top scorer, earning a share of the top scorer award with her rival striker.

She scored 12 WSL goals for Arsenal and set up for a couple more.

She was also nominated for the 2025 Ballon d'Or and selected in the Professional Footballers' Association and the Uefa Champions League teams of the year.

Russo on how she feels she has improved over the past year:

"My top performances come when I'm having fun and I'm confident my efforts in practice and I'm getting my work done, so those are aspects that I can always control.

"Numerous elements to a number nine position, it's so detailed and there are tiny differences. I'm always still learning. Our staff is excellent here at Arsenal. I have great players to gain knowledge from as well. Then when the big games come around, the more you do them, the more you get used to them."

Reflecting on England's European triumph:

"The whole tournament was a complete rollercoaster. There were ups and downs. It was emotionally really hard. It was taxing on our bodies.

"I remember after the last-eight 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.

"In my view the way that we won throughout that whole tournament was just determination and toughness. And I think that we knew that we had the squad, we knew that we had the necessary qualities.

"You're playing against the top sides in the world, the elite athletes in the world and occasionally you have to win a little bit dirty."

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 what it takes, and we knew that we trusted the strategy and what we wanted to do.

"Naturally playing against a team like Barcelona, you've got to be comfortable not having the ball because they're so talented. When they do have the ball, they don't give it away frequently.

"We as athletes in the high press and out of possession, we were highly concentrated on our assigned tasks. There was extensive movement and plenty of defending. But ultimately that led to success. In my opinion you have to be OK winning games like that as well."

Regarding her inspiration, Kelly Smith:

"I got the pleasure of watching her a few times with my dad. Watching her internationally, too, she was just incredible. I wish 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 always used to love."

Alessia Russo notched twelve goals in twenty-one games in the Women's Super League last season to divide the Golden Boot.

She was not just one of the deadliest players in the competition but Russo was also a constant threat in the penalty area throughout the campaign, attempting more efforts (73) and having a higher expected goals tally (nine point seven) than any other player.

Her capability to aid the side beyond scoring distinguishes her.

Fellow player a teammate often delivered progressive passes into Russo, so strong hold-up play was essential.

Her skill to drop deep, creating space from her opposing defender through sharp, darting movements was notable.

If a defender got in tight, Russo used her body well to draw fouls, assisting the side gain settled possession in the enemy territory. In the European tournament the prior year, no player was fouled more than the Arsenal striker (fifteen).

When the play settles, her control are extremely efficient. Her regular awareness of her surroundings means she stays conscious of where rivals are.

She uses minimal touches on the ball, moving it clear from defenders marking closely, before finding close colleagues oriented forward.

By retaining the ball in difficult scenarios, she is often capable to act as an release option for her side in trouble.

She is able convert tough balls into extended spells of controlled play and these possessions in the attacking zone lead to goals, many of which she ends up scoring herself.