Arsenal ‘where we want to be’ in Europe says Russo

As Arsenal prepare to face Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League final, Alessia Russo claims the team is “where we want to be.”

After winning the title in 2007, the Gunners are aiming to become European champions for the second time in the club’s history.

In Saturday’s semifinal at Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon (17:00 BST), they face a Barcelona side who has won three of the previous four Champions League championships and is the only English club to have achieved success in Europe.

England international Russo responded, “Yeah, 100%,” when asked if it felt appropriate for Arsenal to return to the elite of Europe. Any Arsenal player who wants to compete with the best understands that this is a winning team that is so ambitious and wants to be at the top.

Absolutely, “This is where we want the club to be,” according to the players. We are also aware of what will follow us very soon.

Kim Little, the club’s captain, has been a player for a long time, and she deserves to be here.

Little, 34, will take over for Arsenal in Saturday’s final after a stellar 19-year career, of which 13 have come through the organization’s two spells.

She reflected on both Arsenal’s history and recent successes, including their remarkable comeback victories against Real Madrid and Lyon in the first half of the current campaign in Europe.

Arsenal showed character in their first four games of the season, winning just one of them, and trailing in the first leg of their quarter-final and semi-finals in Europe.

Little, a Scotland midfielder, described the journey as “an incredible journey with a lot of ups and downs.”

“Some performances haven’t been as good as we want, but some have been truly incredible.”

We have a lot of faith in one another and what we can accomplish. We are aware that when we collaborate, we can create performances similar to those in which games.

You can’t play at the top of your game every second, but what makes us such a great team is when you can’t, we let ourselves get kicked out.

After he resigned during a subpar campaign start, manager Renee Slegers took over from his former boss Jonas Eidevall on an interim basis.

Despite being criticized as “underdogs,” she claims it will be a ” proud moment for her” in Portugal and that she has urged her side to show brave.

We value the Barcelona team highly. Slegers remarked, “We are very humble for the occasion, but we are here to win.”

We must discover strategies to succeed. The pace of the game will change. We must deal with those game moments as well.

Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas, two-time Ballon d’Or winners, are among Barcelona’s young players who continue to excel.

The Spanish giants are favorites for Saturday’s game and have already won three of their previous four Champions League titles.

Although Bonmati acknowledged the importance of the “favorites label,” “it is good that we have been given the favorites label.”

It is not an easy match, even though it is a new rival that hasn’t made the final for years. Anyone can win the game, but we still need to win it.

Arsenal should have won the semi-finals, as I previously reported, but I should have known that it was a surprise that they did.

“They scored four goals against a world-class opponent.” Against Lyon, we didn’t score four goals.

Putellas believes Barcelona still need to perform against Arsenal despite their previous success and wealth of experience.

“We won’t win because we have three Champions League [trophies],” explains the statement. No matter how many finals we entered, Putellas continued.

“It is true, we know what we’ve done, but it doesn’t really matter in your daily work.” You constantly strive to advance. Tomorrow’s final is our next goal.

Mariona Caldentey, a former Barcelona midfielder, will face the defending champions for the first time.

She won the Women’s Super League Player of the Season award and significantly contributed to Arsenal’s success in Europe. She did a fantastic job in her debut season with the club.

“Mariona excels at her position and is very good at her position. Although we miss her, Bonmati expressed happiness that she is enjoying a successful season.