Arsenal's Alessia Russo has her eyes set on silverware with Arsenal this season as the Gunners prepare to take on Real Madrid in the Women's Champions League. 

In-form Russo is the second-highest scorer in the Women's Super League this season with 10 goals and has also registered five times in Europe.

Arsenal - the only English club to have won the Champions League, following glory in 2007 - are preparing for their quarter-final first leg against Las Blancas on Tuesday. 

They have won each of their last five Champions League games, their joint-longest ever winning streak in the competition (also five between September 2012 and March 2013). 

Tuesday's clash will also be Arsenal's first Champions League game against a Spanish opponent since the 2021-22 group stage, when they lost home and away to Barcelona. 

And Russo, who made the move to north London from Manchester United in 2023, is confident she can win a second major honour with the Gunners in Europe's elite competition.

"Our goal as a team is to keep progressing in this competition," Russo told a press conference in Madrid.

"When you come and sign for Arsenal, you understand the legacy of the club and the history of their successes in winning trophies and I want to be a part of that with this club.

"I want to keep pushing and keep winning trophies because, knowing from past tournaments, there's nothing like winning a trophy with a team."

Squad pic.twitter.com/xkdpxthJHK

— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) March 17, 2025

The Champions League represents Arsenal's only strong chance of winning a trophy this season, with the Gunners knocked out of the FA Cup by Liverpool earlier this month and trailing leaders Chelsea in the WSL by eight points. 

"We were really disappointed to go out of the FA Cup. We reflected on it, and we put on a good performance in the following game against Everton," Russo added.

"And this game coming up tomorrow is another chance for us to keep building and showing what Arsenal are about.

"I have full confidence in the players and the staff around the team and I know we can go on to achieve great things.

"So yeah, it is one game at a time. But right now, we're really fully focused on Madrid and then moving forward."

Arsenal's upturn in fortunes in the competition has been helped by the leadership of Renee Slegers, who replaced Jonas Eidevall at the helm back in October. 

The Gunners started their campaign with a miserable 5-2 defeat to Bayern Munich, but were able to recover to finish two points above the German outfit at the top of Group C. 

Slegers has also led Arsenal to second in the WSL, winning 16 of her 20 games in charge (D1 L3), and said her transition at the club was made easy. 

"The foundations were already there. You don't build a team overnight; it's been built over the years and everything that the club has done to be able to be world-leading with their women's team," Slegers said. 

"That's all heritage that I'm happy to receive. I was a part of Jonas' staff as an individual assistant coach, and I enjoyed my time. I think we did a lot of things really well already, but since my role changed, we've tried to emphasise a couple of things.

"It's about where you put the emphasis and the small things you want to change, how you want to get the best out of us.

"A big thing for me is culture. I think we all know that we're great footballers. We're a great team, but also, for me, culture is very important to get the maximum out of all individuals and get everyone going in the same direction."

All eyes on Madrid pic.twitter.com/9vommsi3gH

— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) March 17, 2025

Slegers also said she intended to use Spanish duo Laia Codina and Mariona Caldentey for her pre-match preparations ahead of facing Madrid. 

Both Codina and Caldentey played for Las Blancas' rivals Barcelona and enjoyed relative success against them during their time in Spain. 

"I've been talking to Codina and Mariona to get some information because they've been playing against them many times," Slegers added.

"They know what it's like, they know what the circumstances are like, what the stadium is like, and what kind of football they play.

"There are some things that you can't always see on tactical footage, so they have some more detail, which is great. So, they've been part of the process leading into this game."