“She is a pleasure to work with” – Alessia Russo receives high praise from Renée Slegers | OneFootball

Ahead of Arsenal’s fixture against third placed Manchester United on Saturday, Renée Slegers has praised star player Alessia Russo after she was named as the 2024/25 the Football Writer’s Association Women’s Footballer of the Year.

Slegers also spoke about the importance of the support inside the Emirates Stadium and an update on squad availability, with three players ruled out of the fixture.

What did Renée Slegers say?

To start things off, Slegers spoke about the importance of securing the second place in the table and how this could benefit her side in the long run: “We want to secure second place in the table but there is so much motivation for us tomorrow.”

“We’re going to put everything into that game tomorrow because from a table perspective it is very important and we’ll have so many fans backing us – we want to deliver our best possible product.”

Arsenal will need their best product not only tomorrow, but on Saturday 24 May when they face Barcelona in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final.

The Gunners have a few weeks to prepare for that fixture, but Slegers sees Saturday’s clash with Manchester United as an opportunity to create momentum ahead of the vital fixture:

“I think we need to be levelled and mentally strong, a good game, a good performance can create momentum and that will be very positive for us but first and foremost, it’s the game against Manchester United tomorrow.”

“I am only thinking about the game and the result we need tomorrow, so I’m planning accordingly.”

Fresh from the news of Russo’s award, she received some high praise from her boss: “The obvious one is her goal contributions which has been great, but all the things in the background; the way she treats people, very humble, respectful, and she always wants to learn.”

“I believe that when players or people are like that, you are more likely to get the best out yourself and that is what she has been doing consistently.”

“I am very impressed and it’s a privilege to work with her.”

Not all things are plain sailing in North London however, with three players being ruled out of tomorrow’s game.

“We have three players not available and that’s Daphne Van Domselaar, Lina Hurtig and Katie Reid,” Slegers confirmed. Hurtig is set to depart the club this summer, as confirmed on Thursday.

Manchester United currently have the best defensive record in the WSL, but Slegers kept her playing cards close to her chest when asked how her side can break the Red Devils down.

“I know they have some very impressive records, so very well done by them as a team and the way they set up – they have a great goalkeeper as well.”

“We see opportunities like any other team, I won’t share those details right now, but we have found really good ways to score goals.”