Olivia Smith Nominated for 2026 PFA Young Player of the Year
Olivia Smith’s rise shows no sign of slowing.
The Arsenal forward has been shortlisted for the 2026 PFA Young Player of the Year award, putting her on the brink of back-to-back honours after winning the prize in 2025 during her final season at Liverpool.
It is a select group. Only six players make the Young Player shortlist, chosen from those who attracted the most votes from their fellow professionals across the country. Smith is joined by Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea), Freya Godfrey (London City Lionesses), Laura Blindkilde Brown (Manchester City), Toko Koga (Tottenham Hotspur), and Veerle Buurman (Chelsea) in one of the strongest fields in recent years.
Smith arrived at Arsenal last summer with expectation already trailing in her wake. She wasted no time justifying the hype. On her debut at Emirates Stadium, she announced herself with a stunning long-range strike against London City Lionesses, the kind of goal that instantly rewrites how a fanbase talks about a new signing.
That was no one-off highlight. As the season tightened and the stakes climbed, Smith kept delivering. In February, she found the net in a dramatic 3-2 win over Corinthians, a result that secured the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup for Arsenal and added early silverware to her North London story.
By the end of the 2025/26 campaign, the numbers backed up the eye test. Smith scored 10 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions, a return that underlined both her durability and her influence in a side fighting on multiple fronts. Her form at club level also carried into the international arena, where she added three more caps for Canada in this calendar year.
This nomination, then, feels like a natural extension of a season spent at the sharp end of big moments. Yet the context adds an extra edge: Smith is not just chasing recognition, she is chasing history of her own, aiming to retain an award she first claimed in Liverpool red and now seeks again in Arsenal colours.
Arsenal’s presence on the honours list does not end with her. Alessia Russo has been named among the contenders for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, underlining the depth of quality in Jonas Eidevall’s squad and the respect Arsenal’s leading figures command among their peers.
All eyes now turn to August 25, when the winners will be revealed at the PFA awards ceremony. For Olivia Smith, it could be the night her new chapter in North London earns its first individual headline.
