**Arsenal** continued their pre-season preparations ahead of the new **WSL** season with a late 1-0 win over Première Ligue side Paris FC.
**Olivia Smith,** entering her second season with the Gunners, scored a 91st-minute winner with a rifling shot into the top corner.
There are a few key takeaways from the game, as Renée Slegers' side moves closer to the new season.
New signing Lisa Baum impresses
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> Baum impressed in her first appearance in front of the Arsenal fans (Photo by Alan Walter - Arsenal FC/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal have been busy during the transfer window, with their attacking signing coming from the Frauen-Bundesliga: a very exciting winger, Lisa Baum, from RB Leipzig.
The German forward impressed at Meadow Park, especially in the first half, constantly rotating with Smilia Holmberg on who would move more inside and who would overlap.
It’s a combination that almost resulted in a goal during the first half, as Baum’s cutback from the right found the Swedish fullback, only for the shot to be blocked.
Baum is also very direct - averaged 1.83 successful dribbles per 90 last season for RB Leipzig. Only Caitlin Foord had a better return of those in the Arsenal squad (1.9).
Having begun on the right-hand side, she moved to the left during the second half, with the most eye-catching attribute being the line-breaking passes at a canter.
It was a pass between the lines to Stina Blackstenius, which set up the goal, as her pass reached Olivia Smith and was smashed home.
Stanway shines in a new-look midfield
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[Embed from Getty Images](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2291152295)
Another area to pick out from the new-look side was the midfield; there had been a couple of additions in that area during the summer window, with Georgia Stanway’s return to the WSL after a four-year stint at Bayern Munich.
The Lionesses' midfield lined up in a midfield three alongside captain Kim Little and Mariona.
Throughout the first half, there were constant rotations between the midfield three of Stanway, Little and Mariona in terms of which one dropped deep, and which two sat higher up.
Stanway had some good moments on the ball, often trying to advance it forward, though she was playing in more of a number eight role alongside Mariona, while Little sat in that deeper six role.
Olivia Smith grew into the game.
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Olivia Smith had the crucial moment of the friendly late out, but the biggest thing to note is that her impact within the game grew much larger as it developed.
During the first half, the Canadian was not really involved in the action as often while on the left-hand side, partly due to the fact that the majority of the action was coming down Arsenal’s right-hand side between Holmberg and Baum.
That changed in the second half though, as Baum moved to the left, while Smith started to appear in more central positions, alongside Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius.
It would be that drifting in towards the centre that proved deadly with her goal late on.
2025/26 was a brilliant first season for the 22-year-old, with 10 goals and five assists in 38 games; the added quality in the Arsenal team suggests that those numbers may end up improving significantly into the new season.