Club legend Kelly Smith has returned to the fold, this time as a coach, to aid the development of our future stars in the women's academy.
As she works towards earning her UEFA A License coaching badges, Smith headed down to lead some of our young Gunners in a training session - which will form a programme until the end of the season.
“It's good to be back in the Arsenal kit!” Smith said. “There's no better club for me. Everyone knows that it's my club. This is where I hope to start my coaching again with the under-21 girls. There are some really good players here to work with.
“The girls are really receptive, they really want to learn, so it's good to get my feet back on the grass, finally get the boots back on and start coaching again.”
Reflecting back on her own development as a player, Smith spoke of the importance of growth off the pitch at this formative age.
"They're training now four days a week, so it's good that they're on the ball as much, learning and developing that way and taking tactics on board. They're just trying to grow as a person and as a player."
“Arsenal have been one of the leading clubs for as long as I can remember since Vic Akers started the team. So yeah, the youth and the Academy is very important to the club. It always has been. You know, Alex Scott, Leah Williamson and Anita Asante have all come through.
"We've got some good players that have a lot of history with the club too. And this is what this is about: finding one or two little gems who can potentially play first-team football for the club.”
We joined Kelly in her first training session with the women's academy, which you can watch in the video above.
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