Female Footballer of the Year Candidate Alessia Russo

Age: 26 Position: Forward Clubs: Arsenal and England

The talented forward created a legacy with Arsenal as they became the first English team to claim victory in the prestigious European competition since the Gunners did in the 2000s, and also played a key role in leading the Lionesses to the successful retention of their European Championship title.

She scored in the European Championship final and found her groove for her team, making significant contributions all campaign long as an attacker and with her work off the ball.

The forward was named the FWA's women's footballer of the year for last season.

Russo finished as the Women's Super League's joint top scorer, sharing the top scorer award with Khadija Shaw.

She scored 12 league goals for Arsenal and provided assists for a further two.

Her name was put forward for the prestigious individual award and selected in the PFA and the European season's best XIs.

Her thoughts on personal development over the past year:

"My top performances come when I'm enjoying myself and I'm confident my efforts in practice and I'm getting my work done, so those are aspects that are within my power.

"Numerous elements to a number nine position, it's so detailed and there are tiny differences. I continue to develop. We have great coaches here at Arsenal. I have great players to gain knowledge from as well. Then when the important matches arrive, the greater your experience, the more you get used to them."

On winning Euro 2025 with England:

"The whole tournament was a total emotional ride. There were ups and downs. It tested us mentally. We were physically drained.

"I remember after the last-eight game, a lot of us were extremely sore and injured. The pressure was immense. But recovery had to be swift. The schedule is relentless.

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

"You're playing against the best teams in the world, the best players in the world and sometimes you have to grind out results."

Discussing the European final:

"The main emotion that stands out from that whole day was just being very composed, like we were confident our preparation was complete, we knew that we had the ability, 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 possessing the ball because their skill is exceptional. When they do have the ball, 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's what got the job done. In my opinion you have to be OK securing victories in that manner as well."

Regarding her inspiration, Kelly Smith:

"I got the pleasure of seeing her play a couple of occasions with my dad. Seeing her for England, too, she was just incredible. I hope that she could have played longer and still be playing now, but she ranks among the greats.

"I think anyone that has played with Kelly would say the same thing and I never got the pleasure of experiencing that. But observing her play was something that I greatly admired."

Alessia Russo notched 12 goals in 21 games in the Women's Super League last season to share the scoring award.

She was not just one of the deadliest players in the league but she was also a constant threat in the box throughout the campaign, taking more shots (seventy-three) and recording a superior xG (9.7) than any other player.

Russo's ability to aid the side beyond scoring sets her apart.

Team-mate a teammate regularly played progressive passes into Russo, so effective ball retention was necessary.

Russo's ability to retreat into midfield, creating space from her opposing defender through sharp, darting movements stood out.

If a marker got in tight, she used her physicality to win free-kicks, assisting the side secure the ball in the opponents' half. In the Champions' League the prior year, nobody was fouled more than the Arsenal striker (fifteen).

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

She uses few contacts on the ball, moving it clear from defenders marking closely, before finding nearby team-mates oriented forward.

By keeping possession in difficult scenarios, Russo is often capable to act as an release option for her team under pressure.

She can turn difficult passes into long periods of controlled play and such phases in the attacking zone lead to goals, several of these she ends up scoring herself.