kelly & kelly: Smith and chloe reunited.
When Chloe Kelly arrived at Sobha Realty Training Centre the end of the January transfer window, her football journey had come full circle.
Kelly Smith has been coaching Chloe in the weeks since, but go back 10 years and the two were playing together as Chloe made her Gunners debut.
July 23, 2015 – Chloe gets her first start for Arsenal in a 3-0 win over Watford in the League Cup, scoring just 22 minutes into her inaugural senior appearance.
“Chloe was always a young kid full of energy, wanting to prove how good she potentially could be,” Smith recalled. “She worked extremely hard. She probably overplayed at times because she was trying to impress the senior players and the management staff. But I think her game now has developed tremendously well.
“To see her thrive on the international stage and get so many goals and assists, I’m so glad that she’s here back at the club where it all started for her. She’s a London girl through and through.”
March 2, 2025 – Chloe gets her first start after signing for us this season, marking it with an important goal in our dramatic 4-3 win at home to West Ham United.
Watching on from the dugout, Kelly Smith: “It was a special moment for me and for her to see her back in the Arsenal gear. I think you could see by that goal it meant so much to her in that game, so it’s great to have her back in the Arsenal red.
“She just had to guide it in. It was a really, really clever piece of movement from her. As soon as Mariona picked that ball up, you could see Chloe’s level of intelligence, to know that the ball is coming in that area, and to time the run to perfection and then be able to guide the ball like she did with the instep. She’s a good addition to the squad. It’ll push other wingers on because her goals and assists speak for themselves.
“It was a massive time to score. I think going down 2-0 to West Ham, they’d be licking their lips at that. But I think once we got that goal, it was always, right, we’re back in it now.
“We conceded early in the second half, but I never felt like we were going to lose the game. There’s almost this confidence within, just from how I felt sitting in the stands watching it, that with the players we have, we have the quality and the nous to come back in games
