Women's Footballer of the Year Candidate Alessia Russo

Age: 26 Playing Role: Striker Clubs: Arsenal and the English national team

Alessia Russo created a legacy with Arsenal as they became the pioneering English team to win the Women's Champions League since the Gunners did in the 2000s, and also played a key role in leading the Lionesses to the defence of their European Championship title.

Russo found the net in the European Championship showpiece match and found her groove for her team, making significant contributions throughout the season as an attacker and with her defensive efforts.

The forward was named the FWA's top female player for last season.

She was the Women's Super League's joint top scorer, sharing the Golden Boot with her rival striker.

She scored twelve WSL goals for Arsenal and provided assists for a couple more.

She was also nominated for the prestigious individual award and selected in the PFA and the European teams of the year.

Her thoughts on personal development over the previous season:

"My top performances come when I'm having fun and I'm confident my efforts in practice and completing my tasks, so that's something that I can always control.

"Numerous elements to a number nine position, it's so detailed and there are so many fine margins. I'm always still learning. We have great coaches here at Arsenal. There are top teammates to learn off as well. Then when the big games come around, the more you do them, the more comfortable you become."

Reflecting on England's European triumph:

"The entire competition was a complete rollercoaster. There were ups and downs. It was emotionally really hard. We were physically drained.

"I recall after the last-eight game, many players were extremely sore and injured. It was so intense. But you've got to turn it around quickly. It moves so fast.

"I think the way that we won throughout that whole tournament was just determination and toughness. And I think that we knew that we had the team, we knew that we had what it takes.

"Facing the best teams in the world, the elite athletes in the world and occasionally you have to grind out results."

Discussing the European final:

"The main emotion that I can remember from that whole day was just being very composed, like we were confident we'd done the work, we knew that we had the ability, and we knew that we trusted the game plan and what we wanted to do.

"Naturally playing against a side such as Barça, you've got to be comfortable not having the ball because they're so talented. When they do have the ball, they don't give it away frequently.

"As players in the press and defensively, we were really focused on our assigned tasks. There was extensive movement and a lot of defensive work. But in the end that led to success. In my opinion you have to be content securing victories in that manner as well."

Regarding her inspiration, Kelly Smith:

"I was fortunate of watching her a couple of occasions with my dad. Seeing her for England, too, her talent was remarkable. I hope that she could have played longer and she was active today, 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 watching her was someone that I always used to love."

The striker notched 12 goals in twenty-one games in the WSL the previous campaign to share the Golden Boot.

She was not just one of the most clinical players in the competition but Russo was also a persistent danger in the penalty area throughout the campaign, attempting more efforts (73) and recording a superior xG (9.7) than any other player.

Russo's ability to contribute to the team beyond scoring distinguishes her.

Team-mate a teammate regularly played forward balls into her, so effective ball retention was essential.

Russo's ability to drop deep, creating space from her opposing defender through quick, incisive runs stood out.

If a defender got in tight, Russo used her body well to win free-kicks, assisting the side secure the ball in the opponents' half. In the European tournament last season, no player was drawn more fouls than the Arsenal striker (15).

When the play settles, her control are highly effective. Her frequent scanning of her surroundings means she stays conscious of where opponents are.

She uses minimal touches on the ball, directing it away from opposing players applying player-to-player pressure, before finding nearby team-mates oriented forward.

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

She is able turn difficult passes into extended spells of controlled play and such phases in the opponent's final third lead to goals, several of these she ends up scoring herself.