Alessia Russo sets sights on silverware as Arsenal prepare to face Real Madrid

Arsenal forward Alessia Russo has silverware in her sights as she prepares to take on Real Madrid in the first Champions League quarter-final of her career.

The in-form England international is the second highest scorer in the Women’s Super League this season with 10 goals and has also registered five times in Europe.

Arsenal – the only English club to have won the Champions League, following glory in 2007 – are preparing for Tuesday’s first leg in the Spanish capital, with the return match to come next Wednesday.

“Our goal as a team is to keep progressing in this competition,” Russo, who helped the Lionesses to Euro 2022 glory, told a press conference in Madrid.

“When you come and sign for Arsenal, you understand the legacy of the club and the history of their successes in winning trophies and I want to be a part of that with this club.

“I want to keep pushing and keep winning trophies because, knowing from past tournaments, there’s nothing like winning a trophy with a team.”

Real captain Olga Carmona scored the winning goal when Spain defeated Russo’s England in the 2023 World Cup final, while her team-mates Teresa Abelleira and Alba Redondo also started that game.

Russo insisted gaining partial revenge for the 1-0 loss in Sydney was not a motivating factor going into the match at Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium.

“Any time you come up against a team in a big game, you want to win and that winning mentality is there probably more than ever,” said the former Manchester United player, who scored twice in Arsenal’s 3-1 WSL win at Everton on Friday evening.

“We have experiences against these players but it’s just how can we use that to our advantage.

“No, no revenge but looking forward to playing our football out here in Madrid. Champions League nights, as a player I don’t think it gets much better.

“At the moment, I can’t wait for the games to come around, especially nights like tomorrow.”

Head coach Renee Slegers succeeded Jonas Eidevall in October – a day before the Gunners’ second Champions League group stage fixture.

She has been heavily briefed on what to expect from Real by former Barcelona pair Laia Codina and Mariona Caldentey, who were also part of Spain’s World Cup triumph two years ago.

“Of course I’ve been talking to Laia Codina and Mariona to get some information because they’ve been playing against them many times,” said Slegers, who has 18 victories from her 22 games in charge.

“They know what it’s like. They know what the circumstances are like, what the stadium is like, what kind of football they play. And some things that you can’t always see on tactical footage, they have some more detail, which is great.

“We’ve been listening to them, so they’ve already had great value going into the game.”

Slegers confirmed goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar and defender Lotte Wubben-Moy are not part of Arsenal’s 23-player travelling squad.