In the space of five seconds she had proven why she was worth every penny of the £1m Arsenal had paid to sign her.
“That’s what comes from me, that’s the kind of goals I want to score,” Smith said after Arsenal’s 4-1 over London City. “Anytime I see an inch of space I want to go for goal. It was a very special moment for me.”
Smith, who joined from Liverpool in July for what was a world-record fee before it was broken twice more, was the star of the show at the Emirates as Arsenal began their Women’s Super League campaign with victory over newcomers London City Lionesses.
The 21-year-old is not yet the finished article but the steep fee reflects the huge potential Arsenal believe she has. The club wanted to strengthen their squad to ensure they do not stand still after beating Barcelona in last season’s Champions League final.
There is a desire to develop and evolve the team in what will be their first full season under head coach Renee Slegers. More broadly, the club wanted to bring down the age profile of the squad. Smith ticks all of those boxes.
“It’s very special, it was a fantastic individual action,” Slegers of Smith’s strike. “Of course people come to the stands to watch goals and good goals. We’re happy to have Olivia with us and that she got this start for her Arsenal season.”
If Smith can reach the levels estimated by her past and present, she could be worth double that price tag in a few years’ time.
Her direct play, speed and tenacity drove Arsenal forward and London City were no doubt relieved to see her substituted just past the hour mark.
Arsenal had looked a little lost and out of sorts until Smith scored an early goal-of-the-season contender. London City had taken a deserved lead in the 17th minute when Kosovare Asllani won and converted a penalty. Arsenal, who paraded their Champions League trophy on the pitch before kick-off, are viewed as the most likely challengers to Chelsea’s crown but they looked anything but title contenders in the opening stages. That was until Smith brought them to life with a bolt from the blue.
It was largely Arsenal domination from there on in. Fresh from her heroics at Euro 2025, Chloe Kelly finished off a fine team move to make it 2-1 before half-time.
Her England teammate Beth Mead then came off the bench in the second half to assist two goals in the space of a minute for fellow substitutes Stina Blackstenius and Frida Maanum.
While Arsenal splashed £1m on Smith, London City, owned by billionaire Michele Kang, had arguably an even bigger transfer window — spending more than £1.5m on 16 new players. Six of those started, but deadline-day arrival Grace Geyoro, who is understood to have joined for a record fee of around £1.43m, had not been registered in time to play.
The scoreline did not look pretty by full-time but head coach Jocelyn Precheur will have been encouraged by what he saw in the first half. He said as much during his in-game interview. It is the first time we have seen a manager conduct one during a match but it is something fans can expect more of. Precheur said he was happy it took place in the first half rather than the second.
“I really liked the first 25 minutes,” Precheur said. “Our possession was good, we were really in the game. We barely existed in the second half.”
Of the big-money signings on display, it was Smith who people will be talking about for the next week. “Just before the game, she \[Slegers\] told me to be me and just to enjoy it,” Smith said. “They brought me here for a reason and that’s what I did today.”
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