Alessia Russo scored a brace for Arsenal in their 2-1 pre-season friendly win over Washington Spirit. Emily Keogh of ESPN kindly provided us with Russo’s post-match interview from the mixed zone.
On starting her pre-season with a couple of goals…
It was a very tough first pre-season game and we have only really been together after internationals and the Olympics for a few days and everyone is coming in at different times and it’s nice to be back with nearly everyone and good to get a first win under our belt and build for next week.
On how pre-season training has been since returning…
It has been good, it’s hard but that is what pre-season is about. It’s been nice to be back and to get ready to build the foundations we want for this pre-season and that we want in these games.
On returning to the US after studying and playing in North Carolina…
It is great to be back and I had an amazing three years out here in college, it is always nice to come back and see familiar faces here and there. It is tough because you have to find a lot more in-game solutions than we do with English teams because we are more used to playing them and Washington Spirit posed us a different question and it was tough. But it was nice to have those conversations and build those connections.
On whether there were specific things the team wanted to work on in this game…
There are always things you want to work on, to get together and build connections and get the first minutes back in our legs. People have had really different summers with Olympics, camps, different things and it’s nice to get back together and get a rhythm again.
On the academy players who played in this game…
They were great, the academy system at Arsenal is one of the best and you could see that today with the girls that played. They can hold their own out there and we have so many top talents coming through, I am excited for them and they are all really, really nice girls and fit into the group seamlessly. It is nice to play with them.
On how winning the Euros with England changed her life…
I would be lying if i said it wasn’t difficult at times. Obviously it is what you want, there is no better feeling than winning a trophy with your country, it is what we play for to win those kind of trophies. But your life does change, i think that is for the best. We wanted women’s football to be in this place for a long time and it’s a shame it took this long. The Olympics are massive and we were all watching, these games are getting the fans, the stadiums and the representation they deserve. It’s nice for those players to have that limelight.
On whether she would have any advice for Emily Fox after winning Olympic gold this summer…
Emily is one of the most professional people I have ever worked with so I think she will be fine and her performances will be as class as always. It is just a transition you have to go through but I think a lot of the girls are used to it now and everyone in our team puts football first. Foxy will always be a superstar.
Well done for a great game, Russo. Intelligent and thoughtful post-match comments.
Russo had a fine game, two good goals and she ran all over the shop as usual.
She always interviews well so no surprise about that part things.