Arsenal Set to Break World Transfer Record for Olivia Smith

The increasing growth of the Women’s Pro Leagues across Europe has now most recently seen talents switch sides for unprecedented fees and this time it’s Olivia Smith who is on the brink of making history as the first female footballer to be transferred for more than £1 million.

The Gunners have reportedly reached an agreement with Liverpool to pay a world-record fee to sign the 20-year-old Canadian forward. The transfer fee is believed to be higher than the $1.1 million Chelsea paid in January to sign American defender Naomi Girma, which previously held the record for the highest amount paid for a player’s services in women’s football.

Olivia Smith, who just concluded her debut season with Liverpool, was an outstanding performer in the WSL as the Reds finished 7th in the League. She scored a combined seven goals for former manager Matt Beard and interim manager Amber Whiteley in 20 games. She was responsible for nearly one-third of her team’s league goals. 

The 20-year-old who plays both as a winger and central striker joined Liverpool from Sporting Lisbon in July 2024 for just over £200,000. She still has several years left on her contract, but Arsenal were willing to offer a large sum to bring her to north London. Liverpool had earlier turned down offers from various clubs, but finally accepted Arsenal’s bid – which is about five times what they paid for Smith a year ago.

Arsenal are looking to build on their recent Women’s Champions League win. They will focus on gaining ground in the domestic League which they last won in 2018/19. 

The Women’s English League has been far dominated by their London rivals Chelsea, who went unbeaten in the previous campaign as they clinched the WSL title for a sixth consecutive time (the 1st under Sophie Bompastor). The Gunners have already signed England winger Chloe Kelly from Manchester City and left-back Taylor Hinds from Liverpool on free transfers. However, the move for Smith marks a much bigger financial commitment to strengthen their attacking options. Their interest in Olivia Smith shows their intent to keep competing at the top of European football and they are also helping to push the sport forward and give female players the recognition they deserve.

Before Girma’s transfer to Chelsea, the previous women’s transfer record was held by Racheal Kundananji of Zambia, who joined Bay FC from Madrid CFF in 2024 for around $860,000. These record-breaking transfers highlight the rapid growth and rising value of women’s football. Clubs are now willing to invest heavily in top talent, showing just how far the women’s game has come.

Arsenal Gearing Up For the 2025/26 Preseason

Arsenal did not take part in the Club World Cup this summer, which gave the players plenty of time to rest during the off-season. The team officially kicked off the pre-season at London Colney on Wednesday 9th of July and have now jetted off for an optional training camp in Marbella, Spain, at the players’ request. Jumping straight into a long season after the holidays wasn’t ideal and this period would help them ease back into the game.

Their preseason tour will take place in Asia, starting with a friendly match against AC Milan on 23 July at the Singapore National Stadium. After that, they’ll face Newcastle United on the 27th July in the same venue, followed by two games in Hong Kong against Tottenham and Villarreal (31st July & 6th August, 2025 respectively at the Kai Tak Sports Park).

More exciting news for the Gunners is that two of their injured first-team stars (Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber) have joined the club on their pre-season trip to Spain this week. While not fully ready to participate in the games, it’s a relief and evident that both stars will join the squad lists soon. Four Arsenal academy players were also called up to join the team, in the persons of – Josh Nichols, Andre Harriman-Annous, Ismeal Kabia, and Max Dowman.

Dowman’s inclusion in the squad isn’t surprising, as he already trained on Wednesday at London Colney and is expected to join the team on the Asia tour. The other three players are likely stepping in to fill gaps in the current squad. 

With Tomiyasu’s departure and Timber still recovering from injury, Arsenal doesn’t have many options to back up Ben White. Nichols, a right-back, made his first-team debut last season in the League Cup game against Bolton Wanderers and will continue to build experience playing in senior games. 

In attack, German striker Kai Havertz, who suffered an ACL tear mid last season is fit again, but Gabriel Jesus is still unavailable, and the club has yet to finalise a deal for top striker target Viktor Gyokeres nor with Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko. Young forward Harriman-Annous can step in for training matches in Spain. As for winger Kabia, Arsenal are still working on signing new wide players like Chelsea’s Noni Madueke, so he’s helping out in that position for now.

New signings Martin Zubimendi, Christian Nørgaard, and Kepa Arrizabalaga also joined the traveling party for the pre-season games in Spain.

Potential newcomer Noni Madueke will join a pool of Chelsea players who have transitioned from West to North London after Arsenal reached an agreement worth around £50m for his services. Mikel Arteta is confident in the English winger’s potential and sees him as a valuable asset on both right and left flanks. He is currently with Chelsea at the 2025 Club World Cup and is likely to put pen to paper after playing in the finals against PSG. 

The 23-year-old who first blossomed at Tottenham’s academy has played 92 times for Chelsea since joining from PSV Eindhoven, where he played for four years. He has scored 20 goals and made 9 assists since joining the Blues in January 2023.

Reigning Women’s UEFA Champions League winners Arsenal Women will commence the 2025/26 Women’s Super League season on the weekend of Saturday, September 6 or Sunday, September 7, 2025. This means players currently on international duty at the 2025 Euros and WAFCON 2025 will have a short break to recuperate before the new season kicks off. As defending champions of the Women’s Champions League, Arsenal Women will join the competition directly in the League phase which commences on October 7th, 2025.

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The team has shown great evolution, resilience, and potential since Mikel Arteta’s arrival. The biggest question mark remains in delivering silverware and the management is doing all it can to make this happen. The summer transfer window is far from closed and we expect more significant players to come in and cover key lagging positions. This season could be a decisive one in Arteta’s career as failure to deliver a major trophy could bring a negative impact and questions on his coaching staff’s efforts. Don’t miss out on any chance to support the Gunners Live at the games in the 2025/26 season. Buy Arsenal tickets now and be part of their push for glory!