Revitalised Alessia Russo is ready lead Arsenal's WSL title bid and end the Lionesses' No.9 debate

Arsenal have wanted to bring Russo to the club for a long time. Under former head coach, Joe Montemurro, the Gunners were close to snapping up the England forward but, long story short, the interference of the Covid-19 pandemic eventually led to her moving to Manchester in 2020 instead.

That said, this is not a club signing. Arsenal would not put a world-record bid on the table if this was not a player that Eidevall didn't want and didn't envisage fitting his system like a glove. Indeed, this a player that the Gunners boss clearly believes is the perfect centre-forward for how he wants to play.

Russo holds the ball up well, she is technically superb and her ability to press from the front suits Arsenal's style to a tee. She's capable of much more than the 10 goals she had to her name last season, that is for sure.

That said, there are ways that Russo will need to adjust in order to be a success at Arsenal. She is capable of making runs off the shoulder and being a penalty box presence, especially with her excellent aerial ability and wonderful first-time finishes. The former United star has a real tendency to drop into deeper positions and get involved in the build-up play, though, rather than being the focal point that Eidevall will want her to be.

After all, there's a reason why Vivianne Miedema, the all-time top scorer in the WSL, has found a home in the No.10 role in Eidevall's system. She thrived as a striker under Montemurro, but has so often described herself as “a nine-and-a-half” because of the way she, too, drops deep and gets involved, albeit in a much different way to Russo.

Instead, Eidevall has used different players as a No.9 during his tenure in north London. Sweden striker Stina Blackstenius assumed the majority of the responsibility in that role last season, but others have also played there, such as versatile forward Caitlin Foord and midfielder Frida Maanum, with there previously no natural option to take Blackstenius out of the firing line when she needed a rest.

Russo will offer that now, but will need to adapt and learn to lead the line in the way that Eidevall wants, too.

Part of why that adaptation will be important is because when Miedema returns from her ACL injury and is playing in the same team at Russo, Eidevall will want them working in tandem rather than stepping on each other's toes.

The pair have the making of a wonderful duo, with Miedema's creativity in that No.10 role and knowledge of what a centre-forward wants in a pass sure to give Russo a ton of chances in front of goal if she can stay in the higher positions and make the right runs.

Add in the quality of set-piece takers in this Arsenal team and the number of wide players who can whip in excellent crosses - think Katie McCabe, Steph Catley and the soon-to-return Beth Mead - and Russo, who scored a late winner with her head for United at the Emirates last November, can score plenty of goals for the Gunners.

It's clear already that Russo can adjust, too. On her Arsenal debut in September, a 3-0 win over Linkoping in Women's Champions League qualifying, she wasn't on the scoresheet, but she was on the end of a number of chances and linked up well with plenty of her new team-mates.

The 24-year-old did drop deep a fair bit, but that created space for others to run into, with midfielder Kim Little benefitting from this a lot. Perhaps Miedema can even profit from Russo's tendency to come into the midfield without the need to completely eradicate that trait from the England star's game. That's one for Eidevall to think about.

In her second outing in Arsenal colours, Russo then showed that clinical touch that was missing from her debut. Coming off the bench against Paris FC, she started the Gunners' comeback from 2-0 down with her first goal for the club before Jen Beattie's stoppage-time equaliser took the game to extra-time. There, Russo came to the rescue, levelling things in the 116th minute after the French club had taken the lead once more.

Russo, along with Maanum, did miss her penalty in the decisive shootout, but Arsenal's premature Women's Champions League exit was by no means on her. Instead, her two games in the unsuccessful qualifying phase showed a lot of positives, especially so soon after she had featured prominently in England's World Cup campaign.

The unusual case of the women's game having an international break before the WSL season has even started meant Russo had another chance to continue that momentum before making her league debut for her new club, too.

Wiegman opted to rest the striker for England's first September fixture against Scotland, which will have certainly pleased Arsenal and their fans. "You want to perform at the highest level and you have to do what’s right and take care of players," the Lionesses boss said.

Then, four days later, Russo reaped the rewards of that when she netted in the Netherlands, her brilliant strike unable to stop England from succumbing to a late defeat but certainly showcasing her fantastic first-time finishing ability.

With three goals in three games before Arsenal have even kicked a ball in the WSL this season, Russo should go into the campaign riding a wave of confidence. After all, the signs are all there that she can be a success at a club that has waited so long to see her in its colours.

On top of it all, what Russo brings to Arsenal is a centre-forward option that they really needed last season. Long-term injuries suffered by Mead and Miedema seriously depleted the Gunners' attack and their WSL title challenge petered out well before that particular race reached its climax in late May.

Eidevall attempted to deal with that in January when the club made that world-record bid for Russo, but they had to look at alternative options. Gio Queiroz, capable of playing across the frontline, was recalled from her loan spell at Everton first. The young Brazilian was sent to the Toffees to get experience of the league after joining from Barcelona last summer but, due to injuries, had only made seven substitute appearances in the competition and scored one goal by the time she returned to north London. Suddenly, she was being thrown in to help solve Arsenal's attacking woes.

With the club still needing reinforcements after the window had closed, veteran striker Jodie Taylor was also signed on a short-term contract in March. It was all a bit chaotic, in truth.

But Russo's arrival adds another striking option to compete with Blackstenius and ensure rotation, variety and more goals. With Mead and Miedema likely to be back before Christmas, and Cloe Lacasse joining after impressing at Benfica, Arsenal's attack looks much stronger this time around. It looks capable of leading a title challenge.