Following Arsenal’s 4-1 victory over Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Alessia Russo stopped in the mixed zone to talk to reporters. With thanks to Suzy Wrack for sharing the audio.
Alessia Russo
On the game and the crowd…
It does’t get much better than that, the occasion, playing at the Emirates in front of these fans and a top game against one of the best teams in the world, let alone the country, was great. To come out on top and put in the performance we did was even better.
On what the two goals will do for her confidence…
It’s great I want to score and create as much as I can but sometimes it doesn’t work like that. It’s been a tough spell in that respect so I was really pleased to get the goals today and get the win.
On Lia Walti’s pass for her first goal…
She did the hard work, I did the easy part.
On taking the penalty…
I had a conversation with Jonas before because we have so many people that can take a penalty on the pitch so I had to make sure it went into the back of the net.
On the WSL record attendance…
They’re incredible. From the first minute till the end. There were spells where the momentum was against us and the fans pulled us through. We needed them in moments and to celebrate with them after was pretty special.
On whether she was surprised by how passive Chelsea were…
I wouldn’t say they were passive, I think we carried out our plan and what we wanted to do really well. We started the game how we wanted to, which worked in our favour. But I don’t think Chelsea are ever passive because they have so many quality players. At half-time we knew we couldn’t let our foot off the gas at all because with the talent and quality they have they can harm you at any moment. We wanted to keep up the intensity of the first half.
On her finish for her first goal…
I loved practicing finishing and shooting, that’s my favourite part of training. I knew I wanted to put it across the goal and lift it a little bit but it was a great ball through from Lia Walti that I had to finish it.
On whether the finish was reminiscent of Thierry Henry…
Someone just said to that me! Maybe but that would be a real compliment to me, he was one of my idols growing up. Any time I get in the box I want to put it in the back of the net and thankfully I did that today.
On whether afternoons like this vindicate her decision to join Arsenal from Manchester United…
There are so many other reasons people don’t see but today was really special it was a great performance, a special occasion and a great three points.
Lotte Wubben-Moy
On playing in front of a record crowd…
Unbelievable. We don’t really listen to sceptics but there was a narrative at the beginning of the season about Arsenal selling out and attracting crowds but not winning but today does that justice and sets the tone for what we are about and the intensity we want to bring and we do that with the fans and that’s how important that relationship is.
On defending against Chelsea’s star-studded attack…
The goal we conceded still kills me, I’m not going to lie. We know their threats, everyone does. We balanced that well with our forms of attack, our frontline were unbelievable today and as Johan Cruyff said, attack is the best form of defence, we got at them today and it could have been more than four goals for us today.
On seeing her long-time friend Alessia Russo score twice…
That’s my sister, knowing the capabilities she has it was only a matter of time. Football has lots of ups and downs and it was a tough international period for both teams but you could see the resilience of us today. That resilience is not just on the pitch but it runs deep off the pitch. When you have that as a foundation, it’s steady and allows you to build and put in performances like the one we did today.
On whether the defeat for the men’s team on Saturday gave the team extra motivation to give the fans a result…
I am a big Gooner and everyone knows that but when I go out onto the pitch, I am quite good at setting aside my fan head and putting on my ‘this is go time’ head. I am going to bring emotion but I am not going to step outside of that, it’s a fickle game and who knows what will happen? The men when from such a high to such a low and that’s the rollercoaster we ride. It’s a balance I have had to manage over the last three years and that I will continue to manage. It gives me motivation but it allows me to play within my means.
On the part the fans played today…
It created momentum. You can feel it vibrate around the stadium, when they attack we absorb it because we are able to channel our focus and the crowd is on fire when they attack. They get that we need to be on it but it completely flips when we attack and you hear the crowd erupt. That is the momentum we need, it’s carried us and not just today. This isn’t just a build Rome in a day type thing. The back room staff have been unbelievable and that’s laid the foundations to have performances and attendances like we do today, it’s all working in tandem.
On how significant it is to beat Chelsea…
It sets the tone for what we are about. We want to win the big games with big performances and that spoke for itself today.
Just the one defeat (a very painful and frustrating one) despite playing Chelsea, City, Villa, and Man United so far. Very impressive stuff.
Lotte deserves all the recent accolades. She has been nothing short of fantastic alongside Ilestedt.
So pleased to be there today for a record breaking attendance with my daughter, nephews and dad. Don’t read too much into the comments about empty seats, it was really full and felt fuller than the previous record, the opening match versus Liverpool. The comparison to that Liverpool game could not be starker. This was a great game that had it all. Team performance, style, flair, crunching tackles and top quality goals of all sorts – open play team efforts, set piece header and a pen. Really pleased for Russo and Mead who both played really well and got their… Read more »
Good stuff, agree with all of that.