The 20-year-old, who earned her first cap at 15, has committed to a four-year contract with the Champions League champions. Smith’s transfer shatters the previous record set in January when Chelsea signed USA centre-back Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave for £900,000.
“It’s a privilege and an honour to sign for Arsenal,” stated Smith. I aspire to play for the largest honours here in England and in Europe, and I’m looking forward to getting underway and helping towards doing that here with Arsenal.”
Smith, who was only made professional in 2023, moved to Liverpool from Portuguese club Sporting a year earlier for an initial club record fee of about £200,000.
Arsenal manager Renee Slegers described Smith as an “exciting young player” who can provide a “big contribution”. She netted seven goals in 20 Women’s Super League appearances in her first season at Liverpool, who finished seventh.
Liverpool is without a manager after the dismissal of Matt Beard in February, and former Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor is the favourite to succeed him. Arsenal did not rest on their laurels after claiming the Women’s Champions League and promised to reinforce their squad.
This is a show-stopping signing that exactly does that, with Smith widely regarded as one of the WSL’s most talented young players, with a huge ceiling of potential. She adds speed and directness to Arsenal’s front line and has already been successful in the WSL with a productive campaign at Liverpool.
There has been long-standing interest in Smith from Arsenal, who lost out on her signature to Liverpool in 2024, and they have always been willing to spend if they had to. The Reds have made a profit of nearly £800,000 after splashing club-record cash last summer to bring Smith in and will regard this as good business despite losing one of the brightest young talents in the world.
Liverpool managing director Andy O’Boyle turned down a number of offers until £1m was offered. The payment of £1m will be made in stages to enable Liverpool to invest gradually. The club are hoping to spend this cash on enhancing the squad in a number of positions this season.
There is also a sell-on fee, so Liverpool will gain from any future sale. Smith had several takers, but it is thought she was impressed by Arsenal’s recruitment presentation.
Having departed home as a teenager to play pro football in Portugal, then step up to the WSL, all before the age of 20, Arsenal believe she has demonstrated her character and capability to be a part of an elite group of players.
Smith’s football career started at the age of five when she signed up with Whitby Iroquois SC, and at 12, she made her debut for the Canadian youth ranks.
Flash forward to 2019, and she was launched onto the world stage, playing against Brazil and New Zealand at an invitational tournament in Chongqing, China.
Smith continued to play for Canada at two Concacaf Women’s U20 Championships (2022, 2023) and two Women’s U20 World Cups (2022, 2024), and was recalled to the senior team in 2023, being selected for that year’s World Cup.
She got her first international goal when she helped Canada beat El Salvador 6-0 in the 2024 Gold Cup and was voted the tournament’s best young player.
Smith is not only regarded as the heir to talismanic record goalscorer Christine Sinclair but also as the catalyst for Canada’s chances of achieving international honours.
Club-wise, Smith started her career in 2022 with North Toronto Nitros of League 1 Ontario and claimed the Golden Boot in her first year with 18 goals in 11 matches.
She then played one season in the NCAA with college football for Penn State Nittany Lions before forfeiting the remaining eligibility for the university to become professional, signing a three-year deal with Sporting in July 2023.
They edged out competition from Chelsea and PSG, and for then-manager Mariana Cabral, the potential of Smith was evident. Thirty seconds into the video, we were like, ‘yep, let’s sign her’. She was a whole package, which is very rare,” Cabral told BBC Sport.
“Not only did she possess the technical skill, but also the physique. She’s powerful and explosive, good in possession and can nutmeg you to beat you like that. She wanted to start her professional career, and that’s why she joined us. She liked us because we were playing at the time in a very possession-based, very attacking style, and she needed minutes to develop.”.
