Olivia Smith Shortlisted 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, a place among the final six confirming what the rest of the league has already felt all season: she belongs at the very top of the conversation.

This is not a breakout built on hype. It is built on votes from her peers. The shortlist is drawn from the players who collected the most ballots across the process, and Smith’s name is back on it for a second straight year.

She arrived from Liverpool last summer with a reputation, then promptly raised it. On her Arsenal debut at Emirates Stadium, against London City Lionesses, she announced herself with a stunning long-range strike – the kind of goal that rewrites the temperature in a stadium and tells a new fanbase exactly who has just walked through the door.

The big moments kept finding her. In February, with the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup on the line, Smith struck again in a 3-2 victory over Corinthians, helping to secure the new trophy and stamping her influence on Arsenal’s first taste of that competition.

Across the 2025/26 campaign, the numbers backed up the eye test. Ten goals in 38 matches in all competitions underlined her consistency and her durability in a side fighting on multiple fronts. Beyond club football, this calendar year has also seen her step further onto the international stage with three appearances for Canada, another sign of a player whose horizon keeps expanding.

Now comes another landmark opportunity. Smith is chasing the PFA Young Player of the Year award for the second season in a row, having already claimed it in 2025 on the back of her final season at Liverpool. Retaining it would place her in rare company and frame her move to Arsenal as the next successful chapter rather than a risky leap.

The competition is fierce. Joining Smith on the six-strong shortlist are Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea), Freya Godfrey (London City Lionesses), Laura Blindkilde Brown (Manchester City), Toko Koga (Tottenham Hotspur), and Veerle Buurman (Chelsea) – a cross-section of the league’s emerging core, spread across rival clubs and contrasting styles.

Arsenal’s presence on the ballot does not end there. Alessia Russo is also among the nominations, in contention for the prestigious PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, a separate recognition voted for by those who share the pitch with her week after week.

All eyes now turn to August 25, when the winners will be revealed at the awards ceremony. For Smith, it is another date in a calendar that is starting to fill with milestones – and a chance to prove that last season’s crown was not a peak, but a starting point.