Arsenal legend Kelly Smith has returned to the club to work as an assistant coach for the women’s first team, the Gunners have confirmed.

Arsenal confirmed on Thursday morning that Kelly Smith has re-joined the club to work as an assistant coach for the women’s first team.

Smith spent part of the 2022/23 campaign working with the Gunners, and she’ll now return to coach Arsenal’s attacking players.

“I grew up an Arsenal fan and was fortunate enough to play for the club for a number of years, so I’m delighted to be back in this capacity – it’s a dream come true for me to be back in this environment,” Smith said.

“I’m really excited to be working with the attacking players in the squad and I want to draw on my experience both at Arsenal and across the game to contribute to us achieving our goals together.”

Arsenal’s Head of Women’s Football Clare Wheatley added: “There are few people who understand what it means to represent Arsenal Women like Kelly Smith, so we are delighted to confirm that she has joined us as assistant coach.

“She will bring a breadth of experience at the highest level of the women’s game and we believe our players will benefit greatly from her input on the training ground, with Kelly focusing specifically on our attacking group.”

Smith won it all with the Arsenal Women, including five league titles, five FA Cups, one Premier League Cup, three Community Shields, and the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

The 44-year-old returned to Arsenal earlier this year, initially planning to work with the Women’s Academy while working on her coaching badges.

But she quickly stepped up into the first-team setup, and it seems she’s now set to take on that role permanently.

The scorer of 130 goals for Arsenal, Smith must be the ideal person to coach the club’s current crop of attackers, and we wish her all the best with the appointment.