Olivia Smith is tentatively laying down roots but remains alert to the changes that can be produced by football. The 21-year-old Arsenal forward, who has nine goals and three assists in her first season in north London, has lived a nomadic football life, driven by a desire to continuously improve and move up the ladder, rung by rung, without a pause.
As the season reaches its climax, a Champions League semi-final against Lyon on Sunday is testament to how far up the ladder Smith has climbed. Now, she is heading towards unknown territory: a second season at the same club for the first time in her senior career. “I do feel quite calm now, knowing that I have set down some roots here, but at the end of the day, football is football and you never know what’s next,” she says. “So I’m always on my toes but, right now, I’m kind of laid-back, just enjoying the time here in the present with Arsenal and looking forward to winning more silverware and growing as a player and a person.”
Smith’s adaptability is a superstrength. Her debut goal for Arsenal against London City Lionesses, when she cut in from the left, drove through the middle, and sent a thunderous strike into the top corner from the edge of the D, showcased an ability to hit the ground running at a new club. “I’m glad that it looks like that from the outside,” Smith says. “Internally, it was a bit more difficult coming from Liverpool and jumping in to the champions of Europe, but I have such a great support system.”
Sitting on a sofa in Arsenal’s London Colney training ground, Smith’s persona is a world away from the ferocious and fearless character she becomes on the pitch. She is unassuming and polite. She calls herself “a nerd” when asked about hobbies away from the pitch. She loves gaming and binge-watching series on Netflix.
Smith bounced from club to club at youth level in Canada before starting her senior career. She began playing football at the age of three, with her father, Sean, coaching her first team and going on to become a key driver of her career. Like many parents, he worries about the impact of having encouraged his daughter to make the moves she has at such a young age, grappling with being keen to indulge her passion and talent while having her fly the nest too soon. “He sometimes feels like he rushed me into it and maybe pushed me away, even though it’s something that I’ve always dreamed of and was kind of what was necessary for me to be where I am now,” says Smith.
She was a sponge, soaking up as many lessons and as much football as she could. It led to her joining a national development programme and being scouted for the national team. After impressing with the under-15s, she made her senior debut at 15 years and 94 days old: becoming the youngest player ever to represent Canada’s senior national team.
Smith spent one season with North Toronto Nitros in the semi-professional League 1 Ontario in 2022, having twice been part of the club’s youth setup. She moved south of the border soon after, initially committing to playing at Florida State University but transferring to Penn State after one term.
Despite her parents’ desire that she get an education, Smith wanted college football more than she wanted college and a medial cruciate ligament injury picked up while on international duty with Canada’s Under-20s left her at but without the football. The return to action was long and hard but miraculously, as Smith describes it, she caught the attention of Portuguese side Sporting.
“The weather, the food, the football, the passion. Honestly, I didn’t really have many expectations, I really just wanted to find my love for football again,” she says. “I was at a point where it was getting quite tough and I was in a bit of a low moment, but I found my feet, confidence, and I had a great season.”
“It definitely wasn’t easy having to mature so young, although I wouldn’t say I’m the most mature person out there,” Smith adds, with a grin. “You learn a lot. My dream was to play pro and I got that opportunity with Sporting and it was something that I couldn’t pass up. It was a big family decision and there was a lot of wondering if I was ready or not, but I believed that I was. An important thing for me has been picking up real life lessons, learning things in real time.”
Liverpool swooped in July 2024, the forward becoming the latest in a long line of relatively unknown talents brought to the Women’s Super League by Matt Beard, and she went on to score seven goals in 20 games and be named the Professional Footballers’ Association’s young player of the year. Last July, she became the first £1m signing in women’s football when she joined Arsenal. And again, she has flourished.
Smith is part of a formidable collection of forwards at Arsenal, alongside Stina Blackstenius, Alessia Russo, Beth Mead, Caitlin Foord and Chloe Kelly. They all have very different profiles as players. “I just want to take whatever I can out of their games and try to implement bits and pieces,” Smith says. “Working with [former England striker and now first-team Arsenal coach] Kelly Smith, too, is just an amazing experience, getting to learn from her and her helping me grow is incredible. She’s a legend and her personality is amazing, too.”
Smith describes playing regularly at the Emirates Stadium as “unreal”. She is also the first to have shown off her own goal-celebration music, a move that emerged from Arsenal’s Block by Block project, which brings together groups of fans to discuss how they can make the stadium more of a home for the women’s team. Smith attended one such gathering on stadium music. “It’s so important to connect with fans on a more personal level and, being in a smaller environment, I got the opportunity to do that in a different way,” she says.
Her song choice was Pepas by the Puerto Rican artist Farruko and it got its first play after that stunning effort against City. “I think it was a bit controversial because I know a lot of the fans love the song Freed From Desire, but guys, we’ve heard this song so many times,” says Smith, who has Jamaican, Chilean, and Peruvian roots. “To be able to choose an upbeat song that’s kind of my vibe and tune into my roots a bit is really cool.”
Smith will hope to hear it again against Lyon on Sunday as the Champions League holders host the eight-time winners of the competition. “The girls and I are really excited to get the opportunity to play in the semi-final,” Smith says. “Lyon are a quality team, they have a great skill set up top and great set of players, but we believe in ourselves.
“Having won it last year, pressure comes with that; being labelled champions of Europe holds weight. But we’re just focused on the game. Football’s football, and we’re doing something that we love and we have each other’s backs and great support from the fans. We have to be able to pick each other up and drive each other forward together.”