Arsenal have introduced the arrival of 20-year-old ahead Olivia Smith from Liverpool for a girls’s world-record switch payment.
The Canada worldwide is the primary lady to interrupt the £1 million barrier ($1.36 million), surpassing the earlier report set by Chelsea’s £900,000 ($1.1 million) switch of USWNT defender Naomi Girma in January, and the Gunners have added one other participant to their ranks since profitable the UEFA Girls’s Champions League in Might after the signings of Chloe Kelly and Taylor Hinds.
In 2019, Smith made headlines by changing into the youngest senior Canada worldwide at 15 years and 94 days. After shifting from North Toronto Nitros, Smith’s breakthrough got here for Sporting CP throughout her first skilled season in 2023-24 as she scored 13 targets in 18 appearances.
– Summer time switch window grades: Arsenal get an A for Smith
– Girls’s world switch report historical past: Smith overtakes Girma
In summer time 2024, Liverpool signed her for a club-record payment of simply over £200,000, and he or she scored seven instances in 20 Girls’s Tremendous League appearances — virtually a 3rd of the membership’s whole targets final season.
Here’s a take a look at why Arsenal determined to spend massive to signal her.
What place does she play?
Smith is a right-footed winger who primarily operates on the fitting aspect; though, she is able to taking part in by means of the center as a central striker. Through the 2024-25 season, she largely performed as part of a entrance two in Liverpool’s 3-5-2 formation, or as the fitting winger of their 4-2-3-1 setup.
Both method, she was awarded freedom to maneuver round up entrance and sometimes dropped deeper to obtain the ball together with her again to objective, earlier than turning and operating at her opponents.
What are her strengths?
Her main strengths lie in her dribbling skill. She has loads of velocity, but additionally the flexibility to vary path immediately — selecting to go inside or exterior equally nicely — which provides a layer of unpredictability to her recreation. Her shut management in tight areas and talent to bounce off challenges additionally makes her a nightmare to defend in opposition to.
Smith performed for a Liverpool aspect that was direct in its buildup, which restricted her time and touches on the ball, however she was glorious when in possession. The stat of “progressive carries per 100 open-play touches” offers you an thought of how regularly a participant makes an attempt to make a progressive carry, and the winger is within the prime quartile for each tried take-ons and normalized progressive carries amongst forwards.
She is in good firm alongside Chelsea duo of Johanna Rytting Kaneyrd and Mayra Ramírez, who’re each recognized for his or her ball carrying, whereas she can also be accompanied by her new Arsenal teammate Caitlin Foord. Certainly, Smith’s 3.6 tried take-ons (with a 58% success price) additionally put her within the prime bracket and suggests some stylistic similarities with Foord, which bodes nicely for her adaptability.
Smith likes to shoot as nicely. Whereas primarily proper footed, she is sweet with each toes and took 49 photographs final season, the joint-sixth highest by any participant within the WSL. That is some feat when you think about Liverpool’s common lack of shot-creating skill, and Smith typically needed to create probabilities for herself utilizing her tempo and ability to create area. Solely Aston Villa duo Kirsty Hanson and Ebony Salmon, in addition to Manchester Metropolis’s Kerolin, created extra photographs from take-ons (9) than Smith (8). And no participant scored extra of those alternatives than her (2).
Smith’s fast footedness and repertoire of abilities make her tough to learn and permit her to attract fouls. Solely West Ham’s Viviane Asseyi (51) gained extra fouls than Smith (46) within the WSL final season, and 9 of these resulted in a shot try inside the subsequent two actions.
The teen additionally has a knack of creating a mark in opposition to massive sides. She prompted loads of issues for Arsenal of their FA Cup quarterfinal tie and scored in opposition to Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester Metropolis throughout all competitions final season.
What does she must work on?
There are questions round how Smith will play in a extra possession-dominant aspect. The winger performed for a Liverpool aspect that averaged 47.4% possession final season and relied on alternatives in transition, typically in opposition to unsettled defenses with yards of area to run into.
Nonetheless, the Gunners averaged the second-highest possession within the WSL final season (62.5%) and always confronted defenses arrange in a low block with gamers behind the ball.
Whereas Smith’s quick-footed nature is a significant a part of her dribbling armory, the shortage of area in behind may hinder the influence of her general dribbling, which might lead to some undesirable turnovers and a slight drop in her dribble success price.
How will Smith slot in with Arsenal’s tactical plan?
Renée Slegers retained some key elements of Jonas Eidevall’s ways after taking on from him in October, however she additionally added her personal spin.
Below her steerage, Arsenal’s wingers are requested to maneuver the ball up the pitch resulting from their direct ball carrying nature, particularly since Chloe Kelly’s arrival, however are additionally trusted to shoot and cross the ball regularly.
With out the ball, although, they’re anticipated to contribute to the workforce’s press and have interaction with the opposition backline in their very own third. Smith matches like a glove on this philosophy; she is an energetic defender with a superb work price and is all the time a key element of her aspect’s front-footed strategy.
Solely Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey (24) made extra tackles within the ultimate third than the Liverpool starlet (20) final season. And, amongst forwards, solely Manchester United’s Celin Bizet (98), Chelsea’s Kaneryd (90) and Asseyi (88) made extra ball recoveries than Smith (77) final season.
Why did Arsenal need her?
Apart from including a younger participant of appreciable high quality, Arsenal had the second-oldest squad within the WSL final season (27.6 years of age), behind solely Aston Villa (27.7). Plenty of their necessary gamers, by way of minutes performed, are heading away from their peak, so Smith’s addition is an inflow of youth. Certainly, she joins Kyra Cooney-Cross, Rosa Kafaji and Frida Maanum among the many gamers who just lately arrived on the membership age 21 or youthful.
At 20, she brings down the common age in assault, including depth and must also be eligible for a homegrown slot within the subsequent couple of seasons, which can assist Arsenal with participant registration.
Whereas her world-record switch payment may weigh heavy on her shoulders, Smith appears able to carrying it and has already confirmed how efficient she might be within the WSL.