Russo: We love playing at Emirates Stadium

Alessia Russo scored the decisive goal on Sunday as we defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the north London derby. 

The England international converted from close range in the second-half, applying the finishing touch to a well-worked team move featuring Kim Little and Beth Mead.

We spoke to Russo after the final whistle and this is what she had to say: 

On whether there's anything better than scoring in front of a sold-out Emirates Stadium...

Winning here too! Yeah, it’s an incredible place and we love playing here and to get the three points and put on a show for the crowd that comes out every time is so special.

On what selling out Emirates Stadium in back-to-back games shows... 

I think it’s massive. Us as players love to play in front of as many people as possible and here at Arsenal it feels like everyone is really on board with us and the fact that they come out consistently doesn’t feel weird for it to be a sell-out anymore because that’s just how incredible the fans are and they show up every single week, so it’s massive for women’s football and we’re really paving the way.

On finding a balance between dropping deep and also being in the six-yard area...

I think it’s definitely about finding a balance. We have players that can play in the spaces a bit deeper, so for me when we’re playing against a low block it’s about staying away and letting those players get on the ball and then when the chance comes making sure that we’re clinical in the box and we did that today.

On our upcoming games against Aston Villa and Chelsea... 

It’s a massive block and we knew that off the back of the international break we have some massive games coming up. Obviously it’s started with today and then we’ve got to get rested and recovered ready for Wednesday with a chance of us getting into a final which is really important for us as players and then we’ve got massive league games coming up too so everyone is ready and focused.