Alessia Russo: Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall heaps praise on 'motivated' star ahead of her return to Man Utd

Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall heaped praise on striker Alessia Russo ahead of her return to her former club Manchester United in tomorrow night's mammoth WSL clash.

Friday's game at Leigh Sports Village will see Russo line up against United for the first time since her controversial summer move to Arsenal and the 40-year-old revealed what mindset Russo was in heading into the clash - and why he was so keen to take her from Manchester United.

"Alessia is 100% professional. She always trains with a lot of motivation. Of course, it is special when you return to play against a club with all your former team mates and former fans. It is really important for us that every time we go somewhere, we go together - and we play together.

"She has a lot of different qualities but what might be the unique thing is the combination of these qualities. Sometimes we have a forward that is loyal, extremely hard working in defence and you can live with that player not being so good technically, such as not being a good finisher.

"Sometimes you have a player who is a great finisher but you don't get exactly 100% in defence and maybe you can live with that for what it provides for the team's offence. Now you see Alessia's qualities, she can work hard in defence and is clever in defence but she can also score goals.

"She is an excellent finisher, both with her head and with her feet. She is a technical player but she can also control the duels and be really physical and protect the ball and it's very, very seldom you see a player that has all the aspects of it. Usually in football you have to choose between some of it.

"I think the reason her potential is sky high is she has all the faces of it, that means she has to develop all the faces for it but she has all of it and that is quite unique" said Eidevall.

The Gunners head coach signed a new three-deal contract with the club this morning and Eidevall is looking for his side to grab their first three points of the season after a surprising 1-0 loss to Liverpool on opening day but revealed he has been pleased with the response to the loss in training.

"You learn all the time in football. What I didn't like about last week was that I didn't think we played with the right energy - and that cannot happen. It hasn't happened to us in a long time. One thing this team has been excellent with is playing with the right amount of energy" said the Swedish boss.

"Sometimes you don't get the basics right on the day but life is how you respond in those moments and you are defined by how you react in those moments. That has been what this week has been about and this is what Friday is about" said the Arsenal boss.

"It is a team (Man Utd) that are very consistent in the way they are playing. They are a good football team, I think we have played some really good and even matches in my two years here at Arsenal. I was not happy with either one of our performances against them last season - I was definitely not happy with the results - we have a lot of motivation going up there to change things around" added Eidevall.

He also offered fans an update on the fitness of star forward Beth Mead as she steps up her return from an ACL injury.

Mead has been out of action since suffering the knee injury last November and has been nearing a return to action in recent weeks - though Eidevall admitted the game against the Red Devils tomorrow will come too soon for the Lionesses star.

"She's not (in contention for the game against Manchester United). She's very close, but she is not" admitted the Gunners boss.

Arsenal head to Manchester United tomorrow night with the game broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League. Kick off is scheduled for 7.30pm.