Jonas Eidevall praises Alessia Russo ahead of facing former club Man Utd

Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall praised summer signing Alessia Russo ahead of facing former club Manchester United as the Gunners hope to turn around a dismal start to the new WSL campaign.

When Russo left Manchester United, she was engulfed in media attention - a positive reception from Arsenal fans but a negative onslaught from United supporters disappointed to see her leave. Now, every move she makes is victim to those same mixed messages.

Despite the negativity, Eidevall believes Alessia Russo may be the critical player Arsenal need to jumpstart their season after succesive defeats to Paris FC and Liverpool.

Having a quick turnaround after England's 2-1 loss to the Netherlands before Arsenal hosted Liverpool, things seldom seemed to click for the Gunners as they were beaten by the Reds.

There were a lot of caveats to explain Arsenal's loss, with Russo's lack of time to gel with the team on top of managing minutes post-World Cup making up the bulk of them.

But now, getting used to her new side's rhythm and tempo, having time to bond with her teammates off-pitch and now heading back to her former club with a point to prove, Russo may be in the perfect moment to give the Gunners bragging rights and all three points come Friday night.

"Alessia is 100% professional," the Arsenal boss said. "She always trains with a lot of motivation. Of course, it is special when you return to play against a club with all your former team mates and former fans. It is really important for us that every time we go somewhere, we go together - and we play together."

Speaking ahead of the big clash that could define the trajectory of their clubs campaign, Eidevall said that Russo was the perfect package- a good finisher and also defensively gifted.

"She has a lot of different qualities but what might be the unique thing is the combination of these qualities," he explained. "Sometimes we have a forward that is loyal, extremely hard working in defence and you can live with that player not being so good technically, such as not being a good finisher.

"Sometimes you have a player who is a great finisher but you don't get exactly 100% in defence and maybe you can live with that for what it provides for the team's offence. Now you see Alessia's qualities, she can work hard in defence and is clever in defence but she can also score goals.

"She is an excellent finisher, both with her head and with her feet. She is a technical player but she can also control the duels and be really physical and protect the ball and it's very, very seldom you see a player that has all the aspects of it. Usually in football you have to choose between some of it."

Russo made her Arsenal debut in their Champions League qualifiers in which they failed to defeat Paris FC, ending their European campaign before it had properly even began. Only having a week with the team prior to the games before departing for international duty, Russo has had little time to settle in and gel with her new teammates.

"I think the reason her potential is sky high is she has all the faces of it, that means she has to develop all the faces for it but she has all of it and that is quite unique" said Eidevall.

Starting for the Gunners in their fixture against Liverpool, Russo showed positive signs, slotting into the team well depsite being unable to finish the chances Arsenal had. As Liverpool's Rachel Laws pulled out some impressive spots to deny the 24-year-old, the game plan suited her playing style.

Watching her play a good 73 minutes for Arsenal at the Emirates, it was clear to see how Eidevall intends to use the striker and how, partnered with an impressive set of forwards, Russo could punish opponents.

"What I didn't like about last week was that I didn't think we played with the right energy - and that cannot happen. It hasn't happened to us in a long time. One thing this team has been excellent with is playing with the right amount of energy," the boss reflected.

"Sometimes you don't get the basics right on the day but life is how you respond in those moments and you are defined by how you react in those moments. That has been what this week has been about and this is what Friday is about" the Arsenal boss contined.

Russo returns to face Manchester United where she netted 26 goals in 59 appearances for the club across three campaigns. Ahead of the game, former boss Marc Skinner stated his respect for the 24-year-old but refused to say much more, pointing out she is not his player anymore.

Yet previewing United, Eidevall believes the motivation the team along with Russo have, will give them the edge.

"[Man Utd] are very consistent in the way they are playing. They are a good football team, I think we have played some really good and even matches in my two years here at Arsenal. I was not happy with either one of our performances against them last season - I was definitely not happy with the results - we have a lot of motivation going up there to change things around," he said..

After being registered unavailable last weekend, Noelle Maritz has returned to fitness whilst Beth Mead is not in contention, with the manager stating she is close but not ready for minutes just yet.

The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event, kicking off at 7.30pm (BST).

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