Olivia Smith; the World's First £1 Million Female Footballer

46 years after Trevor Francis moved from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest in the first £1 million transfer in football history (£1.18 million), Olivia Smith has become the first female footballer to make a £1 million move, joining European champions Arsenal from WSL rivals Liverpool. But while the price is the headline, the underlying point is that Arsenal have signed an extraordinary forward.

Naturally, the fact that the seven-figure barrier has finally been broken in women's football is a big story, but the truth is that this was somewhat inevitable.

Chelsea's signing of Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave cost the Blues around £900,000, but of course they didn't want to break the £1 million barrier just for the sake of breaking it.

While there's no suggestion that this is what Arsenal have done, it's somewhat appropriate that the first £1 million female footballer is an Arsenal player. The Gunners have long been at the forefront of women's football, both on and off the pitch, holding attendance records for the biggest home and away crowd in women's football.

But while Smith's arrival is certainly an exciting one for Arsenal, it does beg the question as to whether or not some current fan-favourites might be on their way out of North London.

Who is Olivia Smith?

Olivia Smith is one of Canada's brightest sporting stars, and at just 20 years old, she has scored 38 goals in 49 league appearances. She initially caught the eye with a sensational season in her home country, scoring 18 times in just 11 appearances for North Toronto Nitros.

While Smith of course deserves the bulk of the credit for her rapid rise to the top of the game, Sporting CP deserve a slice of that praise too. The Portuguese club took a gamble on a talented teenager from Canada when they signed her in 2023, but the gamble paid off.

Smith, who had already made her debut for Canada's senior national team, had a sensational season in Lisbon with Sporting, scoring 13 times in 18 league appearances and finishing as runners up to Benfica, who have dominated Portuguese football for years.

Having impressed again at Sporting, Smith joined Liverpool for over £200,000, making her the Reds' club record signing. Her versatility was invaluable for Liverpool, who desperately needed an attacking spark; Smith provided it.

Of her nine goals for the Merseyside club, none will be remembered more fondly than her strike at Anfield against Manchester City, the first time Liverpool Women had scored in their famous stadium.

If Smith's progression at club level seems impressive, her success at international level is frankly ridiculous. At just 20-years-old, she has four goals in 18 appearances for Canada's senior team, most of which are off the bench.

Before her success in the senior team, Smith raised eyebrows with a goal-per-game strike rate for Canada under-20s, scoring 20 times in as many appearances.

Smith's performances saw her named Canada's young player of the year in 2024, a feet she is likely to repeat this year after her success with Liverpool and move to Arsenal.

Where does she fit at Arsenal?

As good as Olivia Smith is, even she can't simply walk into the Arsenal team. The Gunners were the top scorers in the WSL last season, scoring 62 times in 22 games, a strike rate of almost three goals her game.

Renee Slegers oversaw a huge improvement in the Arsenal team she inherited, and a lot of the attacking threat they pose comes from the superiority they enjoy over their rivals in the wide areas.

Smith is primarily deployed in these wide areas. While she can also play as a central striker or number ten, the incredible seasons Alessia Russo and Mariona Caldentey enjoyed in those positions last season essentially forces Smith to play out wide.

The signing of Smith provides Arsenal with a second quality option to challenge starting wingers Caitlin Foord and Beth Mead after completing the signing of Chloe Kelly earlier in the transfer window.

It's also worth baring in mind that Arsenal compete in four competitions most seasons, and will have the additional challenge of competing in the first FIFA Women's Champions Cup between January and February as a result of winning the Champions League, so game time will be plentiful for Smith even if she isn't a started straight away.

On top of this, the Canadian has signed a five-year deal, so as well as having an impact over the next couple of seasons, the Gunners appear to see Smith as a star of the future once the likes of Foord and Mead have moved on.

Why is Smith the first £1 million player?

It may seem a little silly to have a £1 million for a player who is likely, at least to begin with, to be a back-up, but the huge boom in the popularity of women's football over the past few years means that seven-figure transfer fees will likely become the norm before long.

Olivia Smith is locked into Arsenal for at least five years, and may well spend twice as long in North London. If the Canadian were to stay at the Emirates until 2035, the transfer record will likely stand over five times higher than it is now.

Arsenal didn't sign Olivia Smith because they wanted to sign a £1 million player; they signed Olivia Smith because they wanted Olivia Smith. Liverpool knew they had a special talent on their hands, but also that she needed to be in a team competing to win trophies, so they took advantage of the situation and pocketed the world-record transfer fee.

Losing Smith to Arsenal may sting a little more for Liverpool supporters given that they've already lost vice-captain Taylor Hinds to the Gunners this Summer, but for those Reds fans who know their stuff, it would have been fairly clear that Smith was ready to move on after a season at Anfield.

Her technical ability for a player so young stands out, as well as her calm attitude and goal scoring habits. The added bonus for Smith is that she doesn't have to be the star player at Arsenal; she is, the first time in her career, joining a squad full of stars.

All Smith needs to focus on now is settling it at the home of the European Champions, where she could build a name for herself as a WSL legend.