Alessia Russo believes Arsenal can go all the way in the Women’s Champions League after their thrilling comeback against Real Madrid.
The Gunners booked a place in the semi-finals despite losing the first leg of their quarter-final 2-0 last week.
Arsenal were 3-0 winners on Wednesday night in the second leg at Emirates Stadium after scoring three goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half.
Russo struck twice - and was denied a hat-trick on two occasions because of the offside flag - while Mariona Caldentey was also on the scoresheet.
Arsenal will now face Lyon in the semi-finals next month and asked if the Gunners can go all the way, Russo said: “Yeah. I have full belief in the whole team and the staff.
“It was amazing [to beat Real Madrid]. It still feels a bit surreal right now, I’ve not really let it sink in yet.
“We had a lot of belief all week, we knew what we wanted to do, we knew what we were capable of as a team and we have done that tonight.
“We knew we were doing well in the first half, we felt good. We felt like we had momentum and we said we wanted to be more patient in the final third because we knew we needed to score.
“Chloe [Kelly] put in some great crosses, which set up the first two goals and then we were persistent and probably should have had more to be fair.
“The week has been busy but we have all been locked in. Tonight is when you enjoy the football. We enjoyed the crowd and we will enjoy tonight.”
😱 Acrobatic finish from Russo and Arsenal are in dreamland: 3 goals in 13 minutes to turn the tie against Real Madrid in their favor!
— DAZN Women's Football (@DAZNWFootball) March 26, 2025
Watch the game live on DAZN & join the DAZN FanZone ▶️ https://t.co/dIfKpURfZv
#UWCLonDAZN #EnjoyTheShow pic.twitter.com/zevIg6nNpO
Russo was the star of the show and her two goals were just reward for a brilliant performance from the England striker.
The only disappointment for her was that she was twice denied a hat-trick because of the offside flag.
“For sure [it is my best night in an Arsenal shirt],” Russo said. “Hopefully long may it continue.
“VAR ruined that (a hat-trick) but I should have scored a third anyway without the two offside. I will look back and go again - but tonight we will enjoy the night.”
