Beth Mead Excited to Play with England Team-mate Alessia Russo at Arsenal
Arsenal Women’s star Beth Mead is excited at the prospect of playing alongside her England team-mate Alessia Russo at the club. Russo is reportedly close to joining the Gunners after turning down a new contract at Manchester United.
Mead, 28, told BBC London that she loves playing with Russo for England and would love to do so at Arsenal. She also expressed her understanding of the pressure that Russo is under with speculation surrounding her club future while she prepares for the Women’s World Cup.
Mead Misses Out on World Cup
Unfortunately, Mead will miss out on the World Cup after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in November last year. She had been hoping to make a miraculous recovery in time to make Sarina Wiegman’s squad for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, but did not recover quickly enough to be named in the 23-player party on 31 May.
Mead said that Sarina had been amazing throughout her recovery process and that they had covered every base possible. She believes that it was the sensible decision in the end, but that it will give her the time to make sure she’s perfect for when she comes back.
England’s Expectations for World Cup
Mead is confident that the Lionesses can challenge for the trophy despite Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby also being absent from the tournament through injury. She believes that Sarina will have a plan A, B, C and D and that the players need to believe in their ability as a squad and as individuals.
England begin their campaign against Haiti on 22 July (10:30 BST) and will also face Denmark and China in Group D. Mead said that there is an expectation there because they won the Euros and that Sarina will be telling them to go and play their best football and not to think about the outside noise.
Support from Arsenal and England ‘Family’
Mead has had to deal with off-field issues in her personal life, including her mother June’s death in January following a battle with ovarian cancer. She is grateful for the support she has received from her club and international team-mates since then.
Mead’s Arsenal team-mate and partner Vivianne Miedema has also been working her way back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which Mead says has had “pros and cons to it”. She added that they have had days where they have wanted to rip each other’s head off, but also days where they have been able to understand each other and pick each other up.
Mead now expects to be back fit for pre-season and bolster Arsenal’s challenge for the Women’s Super League title next season. The north London club finished third last season, 11 points adrift of champions Chelsea. She believes that with the squad they have, plus some additions to make it stronger, they can be competing for a lot of trophies next season.