Arsenal 4-1 London City Lionesses: Smith scores stunner on debut

Olivia Smith scored a long-range stunner on her Arsenal debut as the Gunners started their Women's Super League campaign with a 4-1 win over the London City Lionesses.

The Lionesses threatened to cause a shock in their first-ever WSL match when Kosovare Asllani gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot, but Arsenal fought back with goals from Smith, Chloe Kelly, Stina Blackstenius, and Frida Maanum.

Asllani was given the chance to open the scoring after 17 minutes when she was fouled in the box by Katie Reid, and the Sweden international placed the ball beyond the reach of Daphne van Domselaar and into the bottom-right corner.

But Renee Slegers' side turned things around before the break. Smith dribbled past two players before firing the ball into the top-left corner from close to 30 yards out, while Kelly gave Arsenal the lead in first-half additional time after poking home from Alessia Russo's low cross.

The second half was fairly uneventful until the Gunners sealed their victory in impressive fashion. Shortly after missing a good opportunity, Blackstenius connected with a precise cross from Beth Mead in the 83rd minute to score and extend their lead.

Mead turned provider again a minute later when her dinked ball into the box was headed in by fellow second-half substitute Maanum as the Gunners moved to the top of the table.

Data Debrief: Half-century up for Mead

Despite a slow start from Arsenal, they eventually found their rhythm at the Emirates. They accumulated 1.92 expected goals (xG) from 20 shots compared to the Lionesses' 0.93 from five attempts.

Mead's first assist saw her become the first player in WSL history to provide 50 assists, and now leads the way with 51.

Slegers is now also the first manager in the competition's history to win each of their first nine home matches in charge, surpassing Sonia Bompastor's record of eight from last season.