Alessia Russo verdict given by Man Utd boss ahead of return with Arsenal
Marc Skinner won't allow the spotlight of Alessia Russo's return to Man Utd affect his preparations for a huge WSL clash with Arsenal.
Russo swapped United for North London in the summer after a long-running transfer saga, which had seen two world record transfer bids rejected in January. Eventually the England forward's contract expired at United, leaving her free to join the Gunners. Russo then scored three times during the Lionesses run to the World Cup final.
Now just two games into the season she is set to return to Leigh Sports Village, a stadium she called home for three years, with her new club. The pressure is mounting on Arsenal who were stunned on the opening day, when Liverpool claimed a 1-0 win at the Emirates.
United by contrast produced a trademark late turnaround to win their first league game 2-1 at Aston Villa. Skinner's side, who finished second last season, now have to chance to inflict more pain on Arsenal and Russo on Friday night.
But the United boss said he won't be drawn into the narrative of the Lionesses forward coming back to haunt her former club.
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"I get the rhetoric around it," Skinner said. "But I'm not really here to talk about Alessia (Russo) she's not my player.
"This is about how my team can beat Arsenal. I know that she returns and while Alessia was here, me and her had a really good relationship. She returns home and, of course, it's a narrative that we all want to spin but from my perspective, when we look at the forward that is now in place, she has different abilities to Alessia.
"She's not our player anymore so you prepare for like the opponent. You give her the respect you know she can give you in terms of qualities, but (it's) also about how to exploit her. She knows how diligent we are in our work."
United did the double over Arsenal in the league last season, one of which included a memorable last minute success at the Emirates Stadium, when Russo headed home in the dying minutes. Those results helped them take the title race to the wire, pipped on the final day by Chelsea.
That means that Skinner has to juggle the Champions League with the WSL this season, with a qualifier against PSG around the corner after the Arsenal clash. By contrast the Gunners are already out of Europe and can focus solely on the league.
Although Arsenal could be a wounded animal after their tricky start to the new campaign, Skinner believes his team are ready for the challenge while adding it would be a tough test of their credentials.
Russo signed for Arsenal after her Man Utd contract expired"I'm confident in every game because I believe in this team and what they can do," he added. "I believe that we can beat any opponent on any day and I think we've shown that.
"I think they're different as well. I always prepare for the opponent we're going to play and their form is part of that preparation. But you also have to respect the opponent for what they can do to you and Arsenal have been one of the top teams in this country for many, many years.
"It will be one of those big games where it could go either way. My players don't need that psychological edge because they're already preparing for that because they want to beat every team they play. It will be a very difficult game."
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