Female Soccer Player of the Year Contender Alessia Russo

Age: 26 Playing Role: Forward Teams: The Gunners and England

Alessia Russo created a legacy with Arsenal as they became the first English team to claim victory in the Women's Champions League since the Gunners did in 2008, and also played a key role in leading England to the defence of their European Championship title.

She scored in the Euro 2025 showpiece match and found her groove for her club, making significant contributions all campaign long in front of goal and with her work off the ball.

Russo was named the Football Writers' Association's top female player for the previous campaign.

She was the Women's Super League's co-leading goalscorer, sharing the top scorer award with Khadija Shaw.

She scored 12 WSL goals for Arsenal and set up for a further two.

Her name was put forward for the prestigious individual award and selected in the PFA 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 know I'm training hard and I'm getting my work done, so those are aspects that are within my power.

"Numerous elements to a striker's role, it requires precision and there are so many fine margins. I'm always still learning. We have great coaches here at Arsenal. I have great players to learn off as well. Then when the important matches arrive, the more you do them, the more comfortable you become."

On winning Euro 2025 with England:

"The entire competition was a complete rollercoaster. There were ups and downs. It tested us mentally. It was taxing on our bodies.

"I recall after the Sweden [quarter-final] game, many players were really, really battered and bruised. 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 grit and resilience. And we were aware that we had the team, we knew that we had what it takes.

"Facing the best teams in the world, the elite athletes in the world and sometimes you have to win a little bit dirty."

Discussing the European final:

"The overriding feeling that stands out from that entire occasion was just being very composed, like we knew we'd done the work, we knew that we had what it takes, and we knew that we believed in the game plan and what we wanted to do.

"Obviously playing against a side such as Barça, you must accept not possessing the ball because their skill is exceptional. When in possession, they retain it frequently.

"As players in the press and out of possession, we were highly concentrated on our assigned tasks. It was a lot of running and plenty of defending. But ultimately that led to success. In my opinion you have to be OK winning games like that as well."

On Arsenal and England legend Kelly Smith being her idol:

"I was fortunate of seeing her play a couple of occasions with my dad. Watching her internationally, too, she was just incredible. I hope that she could have played longer and she was active today, but she was one of the best ever.

"I think anyone that has played with Kelly would say the same thing and I never got the pleasure of doing that. But watching her was something that I always used to love."

The striker notched 12 goals in 21 games in the Women's Super League last season to divide the Golden Boot.

Not only was she one of the most clinical players in the league but she was also a persistent danger in the penalty area throughout the campaign, taking more shots (seventy-three) and having a higher expected goals tally (nine point seven) than all her peers.

Russo's ability to contribute to the team beyond scoring distinguishes her.

Team-mate a teammate often delivered forward balls into her, so effective ball retention was necessary.

Her skill to retreat into midfield, creating space from her nearby marker through sharp, darting movements stood out.

If a defender got too close, she used her physicality to win free-kicks, helping her team gain settled possession in the opponents' half. In the European tournament last season, nobody was drawn more fouls than the Arsenal striker (fifteen).

When the play settles, Russo's touches are extremely efficient. Her regular awareness of her surroundings means she remains aware of where opponents are.

She uses few contacts on the ball, directing it away from opposing players marking closely, before finding close colleagues positioned facing towards the goal.

By retaining the ball in difficult scenarios, Russo is regularly able to act as an release option for her side in trouble.

She is able convert tough balls into extended spells of stable possession and these possessions in the opponent's final third result in scores, several of these she ends up scoring herself.