England legend Kelly Smith has joined Arsenal Women's coaching staff in a part-time role until the end of the season.
Smith, who scored 125 goals in 144 appearances across her two spells with the Gunners, is widely regarded as one of the most gifted players in women's football history and helped Arsenal achieve a historic domestic and European treble in the 2006/7 campaign.
The 44-year-old also enjoyed a stellar international career before hanging up her boots in 2017, becoming the Lionesses' second all-time top scorer with 46 goals in 117 appearances. Earlier this year, Smith returned to Arsenal to work at the girls’ academy while undertaking her Uefa A license.
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And now the club has confirmed their former striker has made the step up to the first team.
Reflecting on her decision to join Arsenal Women's coaching set-up, Smith told The Times: “After speaking with Jonas [Eidevall, the manager] and Clare [Wheatley, head of women’s football] it was a really easy decision to join the coaching set-up here.
“The club have been really supportive in helping me complete my A License and take the next step in my own post-playing career. It’s an exciting time to become part of this team — we’ve seen over the past few weeks just how resilient and together they are and I’m look forward to working with them more closely on and off the pitch at this key point in the season.
"I love this club and it’s such a great feeling to be wearing the Arsenal badge once more.”
Smith is set to be in the technical area at the Emirates for the second leg of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final against Wolfsburg on Monday. More than 52,500 tickets have already been sold for the clash, meaning the Gunners will likely smash their previous attendance record of 47,367, set in their North London derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur in September.
Monday's tie is perfectly poised after goals from Rafaelle and Stina Blackstenius helped Arsenal come from two goals down to draw 2-2 in the first leg at the Volkswagen Arena.
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