El Shaarawy: Fighting spirit will be crucial against Milan

Forward Stephan El Shaarawy believes Roma have everything they need to improve on last season’s performances, despite the departure of some big names over the course of the summer.

On Tuesday midfielder Kevin Strootman completed a move to Olympique Marseille and, while El Shaarawy acknowledges that the Dutchman will be missed around the club, the Italy international believes the club have options to replace him.

El Shaarawy dismissed the suggestion that the Giallorossi have been weakened this summer.

“There have been some notable departures, but I would say that last year we had the exact some discussions – and in the end we reached the Champions League semi-finals,” El Shaarawy said.

“This year we have lost some great players, of course, and Kevin is one of those because he was a huge figure in the locker room.

“But other players have arrived, talented young players, and the club believes strongly in them. So we do not rush to judgement just yet: clearly we need to improve our performances but we have everything we need to do just as well, or better, than last season.”

El Shaarawy is currently preparing to face one of his former sides, AC Milan, on Friday – a quick turnaround after Monday’s 3-3 draw with Atalanta, which saw the side come back from 3-1 down to grab a share of the points.

“We need to build on the response we showed on Monday evening,” El Shaarawy told Sky Sports Italia.

“We showed real fighting spirit, and we could even have won the game in the end. It finished a draw but we can still go into the game against Milan on the right foot – we need to repeat that second half fightback.”

He added: “I think the main difference [in the second half] was the determination we showed, not so much the change in formation. We changed the system, it’s true: but the coach also put in different players and this is a good thing because it means we all feel involved. But, I repeat, that desire to sacrifice for the team is the main thing out on the pitch – the rest comes along with it.”

El Shaarawy believes that spirit is the key thing the players need to take with them to the San Siro.

El Shaarawy said: “We have tried a few different things [tactically] in training, but the most important thing is that we are strong and determined and focused: pressuring our opponents has always been our biggest strength.”