Alessia Russo's early-season form a reminder that Arsenal and England star remains a work in progress - but there are reasons for optimism as Lioness aims for '20-goal striker' target

Similar reminders were also on show last week, when Arsenal suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Hacken in the first leg of their Champions League second-round qualifier. There were flashes of what Russo does so well - playing with her back to goal, getting shots off when defenders don't expect them, picking up good positions - but none of that resulted in a goal that Arsenal's dominance suggested they would find.

On the contrary, her performances in the first round of qualifying were much more encouraging. Against Rangers, Russo didn't have a lot of space to operate in, as the Scottish side spent most of the game defending, but she worked incredibly hard and got a goal her effort deserved. A few days later, against Rosenborg, she was unlucky not to be on the scoresheet again, hitting the woodwork twice in a bright display.

How sharp she has looked in the first few weeks of the Gunners' campaign, and also on their U.S. pre-season tour, was what made Sunday's chance stand out even more, really. After plenty of positive signs, this was just a little reminder of how there is still work to be done.

Russo can often prompt polarising opinions from fans, be they supporters of Arsenal, England or someone else entirely. Some are in the camp with Gunners head coach Jonas Eidevall, believing that she can become a 20-goal striker. Others are sceptical about whether that is possible.

As with most things in sport, the truth of where she is at in her bid to hit such expectations is somewhere in the middle. While some of Russo's performances show that she really does have the potential to get there - her wonderful goal-poaching against the Washington Spirit last month was a great piece of evidence - she's still on a journey to being that player consistently.

In the same way that her highs shouldn't fool anyone into thinking she is the finished product, the lows shouldn't be used to summarise her whole game either.

What Eidevall would likely say about Sunday is that it was good to see Russo in that position, one-on-one with Yamashita, and that it is encouraging that she has been in those goal-scoring positions several times through the start of Arsenal's season. That might sound like faint praise but, as anyone who has watched the striker for a few years will know, it's a really positive part of her recent growth.

"What is important with Alessia is developing and playing and the goal-scoring positions she increasingly finds herself in," he explained this summer. "I think as a forward, that should be your aim all the time, to be in the right positions, because if you are, the goals come as a consequence. I said early on that her finishing ability is the best that I have ever worked with. If she is getting enough goal-scoring opportunities, goals are sure to happen. I think you see this summer, with the Lionesses as well, that she gets into those positions more frequently now and that is going to be important for us and also for Alessia."

It was something that Eidevall elaborated on further when speaking to DAZN ahead of the Gunners' pre-season friendly with Chelsea. "If you've seen her game in the past, I think she's been quite a drifting forward," he added. "She's been out a lot on the flanks, working balls. I know Sarina [Wiegman] has worked with her in that in England and I'm working with her in that at Arsenal to be in more central positions, be more often in what we call the 'goal zone', and she manages to do that more often and that leads to her being involved in more goal-scoring opportunities. That, combined with her finishing ability, obviously results in scoring more goals as well."

It certainly felt like Russo made progress in a positioning sense through last season - and the numbers back it up. In the WSL, the averages of all of her key metrics in this respect were up in the second half of Arsenal's season compared to the first - those being touches in the opposition's box, total shots, shots on target, expected goals (xG) and goals. She was outperforming her xG from January onwards as well, having underperformed with regards to it in the first half the campaign. That's a testament to the work done by herself, Eidevall, Wiegman and other members of Arsenal and England's coaching staff, like Kelly Smith, the Gunners' icon who has been helping Russo a lot since joining Eidevall's team.

“We work with the positioning and making sure you get into those situations more often, by having the right position and the right angle and making the most out of it," the Arsenal boss explained last season, offering an insight into how he and his staff are trying to help Russo become more of a fox in the box.

"The amount of touches you get as a No.9 is, in most teams, the most limited amount of touches for all the outfield players. It is not about increasing those touches, it is about increasing the quality of those touches. That is generally what you need to work on with forward players. Everyone would like the ball a bit more, but the reality in football is that area is going to be more restricted. You will have fewer touches so it is about dealing with that reality, having fewer touches and not getting impatient and going towards the ball in the wrong moment, but instead anticipating the right moment.”

That's also something that shows in the numbers, as Russo's average total touches decreased as the 2023-24 WSL season went on, despite her average touches in the opposition's box increasing.

How this continues through the new season will be intriguing to track. On Sunday, Eidevall chose to deploy Stina Blackstenius as the starting centre-forward due to her pace in behind, which he believed could expose a weakness City have in transition. His decision was justified too, as Blackstenius had two fantastic chances on the counter, though she was unable to finish either.

As such, Russo's role as a second-half substitute meant it was difficult to use this game as a marker to assess her progress, and she didn't have ample time to provide a clear positive contribution that balanced out the missed opportunity one-on-one.

The 25-year-old will be Eidevall's No.9 for most games this season, though, and the same can be said for when she heads off on international duty, as she remains first-choice for Wiegman's Lionesses. She is going to get the opportunities to continue taking her development as a striker down the positive path it was on last season.

How much more progress can she make? Eidevall, who works with her every day, was clearly confident earlier this year when he said she can become a 20-goal striker, battling with the likes of Khadija Shaw and Sam Kerr for those Golden Boot accolades. This season, like last, we'll get to see a little bit more evidence as to whether or not he is correct.