Smith lives up to £1m price tag in dream Arsenal debut

Olivia Smith was the world’s first £1 million women’s football player when she made her Women’s Super League debut for Arsenal.

In their WSL opener, the European champions lost to newly promoted London City Lionesses 1-0 thanks to Smith’s stunning strike that beat goalkeeper Elene Lete into the top corner.

The 21-year-old Canada international’s well-known switch from Liverpool in the summer was the catalyst for their comeback at the Emirates Stadium, which silenced any talk of pressure.

After signing Lizbeth Ovalle for £1.1 million from Orlando Pride, Smith only spent 35 days as the most expensive female football player in the world, but the question was whether Smith could justify the payment made for her after just one season in Liverpool’s top division.

Smith, however, said that her “the price tag is a price tag” in the pre-season, and her 29th-minute equaliser suggested she could handle the pressure.

After the 4-1 victory, Smith said, “That’s the kind of goals I want to score.”

I want to go for a goal whenever I see an inch of space. For me, it was a very special moment.

Smith recorded four shots, nine touches inside the opposition box, and four attempted dribbles in less than an hour on the field, which was higher than anyone else on the field.

Fara Williams, a former England and Arsenal midfielder, said on BBC One that Smith had to “create half a yard, fire a shot on goal, and force the goalkeeper to save.”

“She succeeded in doing that with the objective. She lived up to the £1 million price tag and achieved it in every way.

Rachel Brown-Finnis, a former England and Arsenal goalkeeper, continued: “Eyes, microscope, everything on her. But what an introduction.

Smith, who made her senior international debut for Canada in 2019, was reportedly tipped for stardom at the age of 15 and 94.

She won the golden boot in her debut season with 18 goals in 11 games and made League 1 Ontario her home team in 2022.

However, she only started working for Sporting in 2023, where she fought off opposition from Chelsea and Paris St.Germain.

Smith moved to Liverpool for a club record fee of just over £200,000, clocking in at the end of her first season in Europe, where Sporting finished second in Portugal, with 13 goals and nine assists.

Before making the big-money move to North London, she scored seven goals in 20 games for the Reds during her debut WSL season.

She showed such confidence last season when Matt Beard led Liverpool. “Brown-Finnis said. They won player of the year last year.

With that price tag and an Arsenal call, it’s too difficult to get her, Liverpool would have loved to keep her.

And Smith had a difficult start in her first game for Arsenal, where she scored a penalty penalty from captain Kosovare Asllani.

However, Smith’s superb equalizer, which captivated more than 38 000 fans, gave the game a new lease of life.

Renee Slegers, the manager of Arsenal, expressed his satisfaction.

Slegers referred to Smith’s strike as “very special.”

Although many players had good actions, it was a fantastic individual action, and people still attend the stands to watch good goals.

“We’re very happy to have Olivia with us,” she said. It achieved a fantastic goal.

Chelsea, who had six straight wins in a row, finished the season with a 12 point lead over their closest rivals, the Gunners.

Slegers was questioned about her team’s desire to win the league title this year.

The Dutch coach told BBC Sport, “If you’re Arsenal, you want to compete for every trophy.”

“I’m thinking about the game against London City right now,” I say. However, if you want to win more awards, you also want to play and work for Arsenal.

Slegers hopes Smith’s arrival will help her meet her goals for the upcoming season.

The manager of Arsenal remarked, “We have such a good squad.

“We have a lot of talented players who each have their own set of qualities, and they consistently put together a really strong Arsenal on the pitch every game.

Olivia adds a new dimension to our game because she “adds something new to what we did last year.”

Smith stated after her move to the Gunners that she was “hungry, driven, interested in learning, wanting to grow, and ultimately, I want to win things.”