Olivia Smith hit the headlines in a big way this summer. One week into the season, she was at it again. Given the frequency, you would be forgiven for thinking this was a player who favours the limelight. But you would be wrong.
Humble, respectful and unassuming, Smith’s only aim is to play football and play it well. But for the game’s most expensive player – a title she held for a month at least – a debut at Arsenal was always going to draw the attention of the masses.
Anticipation crackled around the Emirates on Saturday, eyes eagerly fixed on women’s football’s first seven-figure player, indulged by Renee Slegers’ decision to play her new forward from the start. She did not disappoint.
The take on the half turn. The pace to power beyond. A hit of epic proportions. Smith quickly proved she was made for the big stage, her stunning debut goal against London City Lionesses a collector’s item for those who had turned out in their thousands to see her play.
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Olivia Smith scores a stunner on her Arsenal debut against the London City Lionesses.
Slegers called it a “fantastic individual action”, but more than that, it was a moment meant to silence any talk of pressure. Smith, 21 but wise beyond her modest years, won’t humour that narrative. The only expectation that governs her comes from within.
“I don’t look at the price tag, that’s between the clubs,” she exclusively told Sky Sports, speaking before opening weekend. “I was just excited to get the opportunity to play with some of the best players in the world. It’s overwhelming but my only focus is football.
“It’s very special I get to be a part of this team.”
Smith is a player that sparked huge excitement even before her record-breaking £1m move this summer. There are few of her age with better quality or more experience.
Perhaps that’s why, with Arsenal trailing 1-0 to WSL newcomers London City, she was able to inspire such an intentioned shift in an otherwise even game. Arsenal ran out 4-1 winners and in the end it felt comfortable. But Smith was the change, rounding off a sequence of 19 uninterrupted passes with an unstoppable strike.
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Highlights of the Women’s Super League match between Arsenal and London City Lionesses.
“That’s the kind of goals I want to score,” she said on the BBC afterwards, her poise and composure under such an expectant glare as remarkable as the goal itself.
Smith is different to Arsenal’s other attacking options, a ball-carrier as well as goal scorer. One might argue that Arsenal’s scoring prowess was not necessarily in need of a boost – they were the league’s top finishers last term – but that would be to undermine what Smith has to offer a side who have consistently been second-best to Chelsea in every other area.
Beyond a keen eye for goal, she can progress the ball, receive in tight areas, draw defenders, win fouls, and generally be a nuisance. “My role can be varied,” she says. “Renee gives me freedom to use my creative side, and there is a lot of versatility within her structure which I love.”
Smith’s switch with Chloe Kelly 30 minutes into the game last Saturday is what engineered Arsenal’s equaliser. Slegers uses that tactic a lot. But it was not the manager’s instruction to tweak her positioning. It was her own.
Olivia Smith delivered a big performance on her Arsenal debut against London City
Smith spoke of her intuition at Arsenal media day, telling Sky Sports: “I love to adapt, play in different positions, move across the pitch – it’s cool because all the girls play that way, so getting to mesh with them is great.” The gelling process has clearly happened quickly. Kelly’s integration is proof of that too.
“I have to earn my spot,” the youngster insisted last month. “The price tag is just a price tag; I have to earn it. You have girls in this squad that I watched, growing up – it’s crazy to be seen as their equal.”
For a player who made her international debut at just 15 – the youngest ever for Canada – Smith is impressively unmoved by the hype. It’s all in her stride.
Olivia Smith is an immediate hit at Arsenal
“I surprised myself during my first season in England,” she says, before defining success in her debut campaign as a Gunner as simply “learning and growing”. She speaks of wanting to contribute goals and assists but caveats that by emphasising her willingness to be a “starter or a finisher”.
And she’s quickly become a fan, too, highlighting how struck she was to witness the quality of Kyra Cooney-Cross and intelligence of Kim Little “up close”, as if the opportunity were merely a one-off. Chances are the admiration was reciprocated.
The PFA Young Player of the Year has already made her mark in an Arsenal shirt. No doubt there is more to come, and a fanfare to match.
Arsenal might be champions of Europe, but challenging six-time WSL champions Chelsea domestically is surely now their foremost aim. Slegers has already had a taste of Smith’s point of difference. Will her smart signing turn out to be the start of something far greater?
Watch West Ham vs Arsenal in the WSL, live on Sky Sports Football on Friday; kick-off 7.30pm
