Beattie: Arsenal not worried for Russo's return to Man Utd

Jen Beattie says team-mate Alessia Russo's return to old club Manchester United on Friday night will not be discussed in the Arsenal dressing room.

England forward Russo, 24, left the Red Devils in July on a free transfer after helping Marc Skinner's side finish second in the Women's Super League last term.

The Lionesses ace will be desperate to get off the mark in the WSL for Arsenal at Leigh Sports Village — and Beattie knows it will be a bigger deal for her colleague than the team as a whole.

She said on Sky Sports' Three Players and a Podcast: "It's definitely not a spoken thing as a team. You don't pick out the individual and ask them how they feel about going back.

"But I guess Alessia is the standout, she's literally just come from the club.

"She was our biggest signing over the summer so in her head it probably is a big thing but we don't make it a big thing as a team.

"It's not really a thing teams speak about unless it was a few players that came from the same club but it'll be a big thing in Alessia's head — she'll want to go back and perform. 

"Everyone wants to beat their old team and prove they made the right decision."

Scottish defender Beattie says Jonas Eidevall's squad may ask Russo for some insight on United, although she was keen to stress that no pressure will be put on the striker.

She added: "You'd maybe pick her brain about little bits of information or you might want to know if she knows things in the camp that are happening, because she's still close with half the players.

"But you don't want to put her in a situation where she has to feel responsible for those kind of questions."

Manchester United vs Arsenal is live exclusively on Sky Sports and NOW on October 6.