Olivia Smith has recorded four goals across 18 appearances for Canada.
Canadian forward Olivia Smith has become the most expensive acquisition in women’s football history, completing a £1 million transfer to Arsenal from Liverpool.
The 20-year-old, who debuted internationally at age 15, has inked a four-year contract with the Champions League contenders.
Smith’s move surpasses the previous record established by Chelsea in January, when they secured USA defender Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave for £900,000.
“It’s a privilege and an honor to join Arsenal,” Smith stated.
“I aspire to compete for major titles both in England and across Europe, and I’m eager to contribute to Arsenal’s success in achieving those goals.”
Smith, who turned professional in 2023, joined Liverpool from Portuguese side Sporting a year ago for a club record fee of just over £200,000.
Arsenal’s head coach, Renee Slegers, described Smith as an “exciting young player” with the potential to make a “significant contribution.”
She tallied seven goals in 20 Women’s Super League matches during her debut season, as Liverpool secured a seventh-place finish.
Liverpool has been without a manager since Matt Beard’s dismissal in February, with former Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor emerging as the leading candidate for the position.
Following their Women’s Champions League victory, Arsenal aimed to bolster their squad.
The acquisition of Smith, widely regarded as one of the WSL’s most promising young talents with considerable potential, underscores this ambition.
She brings pace and directness to Arsenal’s attacking options, having already demonstrated her capabilities in the WSL with a successful season at Liverpool.
Arsenal has long held interest in Smith, having been pipped to her signature by Liverpool in 2024, and has always been prepared to invest when necessary.
The Reds have generated a profit of nearly £800,000 after breaking their club record last summer to sign Smith, a move they will view as sound business despite losing one of the world’s brightest young talents.
Liverpool managing director Andy O’Boyle rejected several bids until £1m was presented. The £1m payment will be made in instalments to allow Liverpool to invest gradually.
The club hopes to use this money to strengthen the squad in several areas this season.
There is also a sell-on clause, so Liverpool will benefit from any future sale.
Smith had several suitors but it is believed she was impressed by Arsenal’s recruitment presentation.
Having left home as a teenager to play professional football in Portugal, then leap up to the WSL, all by the age of 20, Arsenal think she has proven her character and ability to be part of an elite squad.
Smith’s football journey began aged five when she joined Whitby Iroquois SC, and she made her debut in the Canada youth set-up at 12.
Fast forward three years to 2019 and she was catapulted on to the international stage, featuring against Brazil and New Zealand at an invitational tournament in Chongqing, China.
Smith went on to represent Canada at two Concacaf Women’s U20 Championships (2022, 2023) and two Women’s U20 World Cups (2022, 2024), and returned to the senior side in 2023, earning selection for that year’s World Cup.
She scored her first international goal in a 6-0 victory over El Salvador at the 2024 Gold Cup and was named the tournament’s best young player.
Smith is seen not only as the successor to talismanic record goalscorer Christine Sinclair but the key to Canada’s hopes of winning international honours.
At club level, Smith began her career in 2022 with North Toronto Nitros in League 1 Ontario, winning the golden boot in her debut campaign with 18 goals in 11 games.
She then spent one season in the NCAA playing college football for Penn State Nittany Lions before forgoing the rest of her university eligibility to turn professional, signing a three-year contract with Sporting in July 2023.
They fought off competition from Chelsea and PSG, and, for then head coach Mariana Cabral, Smith’s potential was clear.
“Thirty seconds into the video we were like, ‘yep, let’s sign her’. She was clearly a whole package, which is very rare,” Cabral told BBC Sport.
“Not only did she have the technical ability, but she also had the physicality. She’s explosive and strong, good on the ball and can nutmeg you to get past you like that.
“She wanted to get her professional career started and that’s why she came to us. She liked us because of the way we played at the time – very possession-based, very attacking – and she needed minutes to grow.
“But we knew Portugal was a stepping stone for her; she would go on to bigger places.”
In her first season in Europe, Smith amassed 22 goals involvements (13 goals, nine assists) in 18 league appearances as she collected another best young player gong and Sporting finished second in the table.
She also caught the attention of Liverpool, signing before the 2024-25 season.
Smith hit the ground running in a Liverpool shirt, scoring against West Ham only 76 minutes into her WSL career and quickly becoming their main attacking threat.
She topped their goalscoring charts, netting seven times in 20 league starts, with no other player contributing more than three goals.
Smith also led the way for touches in the opposition’s box (92) and shots (50), including 16 efforts on target and a conversion rate of 14%.
Across all competitions, she registered nine goals and one assist in 25 appearances and established her as a player for the big occasion.
She scored Liverpool’s first WSL goal at Anfield and also opened the scoring against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final.
Her team-mates voted her players’ player of the season and players’ young player of the season.
Smith’s goalscoring exploits have put her in good company.
According to Opta, when comparing debut WSL seasons, she outscored Mayra Ramirez (four), Vivianne Miedema (four), and new Arsenal team-mate Alessia Russo (three), while across Europe’s big five leagues last season only two players aged 20 or under scored more goals than Smith – Barcelona’s Vicky Lopez (10) and Freiburg’s Cora Zicai (nine).
However, Arsenal can expect far more than just goals from their seven-figure signing.
Smith is a versatile forward. Although she spent the majority of last season playing as a striker, she also clocked up significant time on the right wing, perhaps most notably in the FA Cup semi-final.
Commentating on that match, former England midfielder Fara Williams described her as “a weapon down the right-hand side”.
Smith won the second highest number of fouls in the WSL last season, with 14 of the 46 coming in the final third.
“She’s got the technical part, the physical part, the tactical part, and then the extra part – you can be very talented but if you don’t have the mental part, being focused on your work and being ambitious and resilient,” Cabral said.
“She’s one of those players you want in your team. Give her the ball and she can change the game by herself. That’s something special.
“Fans need to be patient and also journalists. In today’s society, you want everything immediately or even yesterday.
“She’s not at the peak of her performance yet. She has potential to unlock.
“If she likes Arsenal and Arsenal like her, she can be successful for a really long time and one of those players where you can build a team around. She has the potential to be the best player in the world.”
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