Alessia Russo's slow start to Arsenal career puts Lionesses' Olympic hopes in jeopardy

There is no doubt that England's Lionesses look strongest when their number one striker Alessia Russo is at her best.

But the 24-year-old seems to be going through a dry spell when it comes to goal-scoring.

Russo averages one goal every two games for the Lionesses - but since joining Arsenal at the beginning of the WSL season, she has scored just once.

And in Arsenal's most recent 2-1 victory over Bristol City, Russo had the second-fewest touches of any Arsenal player in the game and she failed to test their goalkeeper Olivia Clark at all.

It has been an underwhelming start to the season for the Gunners - a tone which was set before the WSL had even begun after Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League by underdogs Paris FC.

Since then, Arsenal have picked up two wins, a draw and a loss in the WSL.

At this same point last season, they were yet to drop points.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Russo admitted that after a summer dominated by an exciting and devastating World Cup run, adjusting to life at Arsenal had been a process.

She said: “Joining a new club is hard but I am making new friends and new connections on the pitch.

“When you join a new team — you have got to figure out what each other’s traits and strengths are and how you can make them better and how they make you better.

“Yes, it takes a little bit of time but you feel it is coming more and more together."

Arsenal sit seventh in the WSL table - but are just three points off the current leaders Manchester City.

But while Russo may not yet be firing on all cylinders for the Gunners, their season has received a huge boost thanks to the return of Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema who both suffered season-ending ACL injuries last year.

Mead came on in Arsenal's 2-1 comeback win over Aston Villa where she set up Russo's 94th-minute-winner and proved exactly why the club are delighted to have her back.

But despite her Arsenal comeback, Mead did not make it into Sarina Wiegman's England squad for the upcoming fixtures against Belgium.

England currently sit third in their Women's Nations League group after a win over Scotland and a defeat to the Netherlands in the first two matches.

But Olympic qualification for Team GB is at stake: the only way England will have any hope of qualifying for Paris 2024 is if they win their group.

Their opponents Belgium currently sit top of the group after they recorded a draw against Scotland and pulled off a shock victory over the Netherlands.

Nothing but two wins will be satisfactory for the Lionesses as they face Belgium first at the King Power Stadium in Leicester and then again four days later at the Den Dreef Stadium in Belgium.

While Wiegman has previously taken the decision to start Aston Villa's Rachel Daly ahead of Russo and could do so again, it looks more likely that the Arsenal striker will be handed the role against Belgium.

All eyes will be on Russo to see if she can forget her less-than-perfect start at Arsenal and turn her focus to doing what she does best for the Lionesses: scoring goals and winning games.

England vs Belgium is live on talkSPORT 2 from 7:45pm.