Alessia Russo says that Arsenal still believe they can win the Women’s Super League title after comfortably beating Spurs on Saturday.
The Gunners extended their unbeaten run under interim manager Renee Slegers to six games in all competitions with a 3-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Russo opened the scoring after just 63 seconds to score the club’s second fastest goal in WSL history and set the visitors on their way in the North London Derby.
Frida Maanum doubled their lead in the first half before Stina Blackstenius added a third in the 66th minute for their third league win since Jonas Eidevall resigned.
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“Today was massive,” Russo told BBC Sport after the final whistle. “Not only is it another step in the league and the journey we are on but it’s a derby.
“When you come to the club you know the standards and this is one of them. We knew what it [defeat] felt like and wanted to put it right. Enjoying myself and want to get better each day.”
The former Manchester United forward says Sleger has made the squad “a little bit more confident” since taking the reins.
“Things don’t change overnight,” Russo said. “She has allowed us a little bit of freedom up there and each game is getting better and better.”
The result moves Arsenal up to fourth in the table on 15 points. Asked if they can still win the WSL title, Russo responded affirmatively.
“For sure. The quality that we have, absolutely. We are taking each game as it comes. We believe we can go far and we will be working hard to do that.”
Slegers was eager to praise her squad for the marked improvement in performance and results over the past month.
“It’s the players,” the Dutch woman said. “We are stepping up as a staff as well. We try to facilitate, but the effort and work they put in is on them. I want to give credit to the players again.”
She added: “Towards the end I had a look at the away section. Fantastic. That was a moment of mindfulness and taking it all in.”
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