ALL SMILES. Smilla Holmberg is making an impact at Arsenal
The teen Sweden star Smilla Holmberg has only been at Arsenal since the beginning of this year, but her impact has been outsized – and it already feels like she’s been there for much, much longer.
We spoke to Holmberg about being at Arsenal, having an instant friend in Sweden teammate Stina Blackstenius – and to their head coach Renée Slegers about using their Champions League games against HB Koge and Paris FC as a launch pad for their season.
When Smilla Holmberg entered the fray at the Emirates against Man United last Saturday night, with the rain lashing down and the game ebbing away from the Gunners’ control, she looked as calm and unruffled as ever. Whatever the situation, she seems chilled. And when Leah Williamson sent over a long, diagonal cross to the very far post in the final, 95th minute, who was there but Holmberg to crash in a perfect volley – and preserve Arsenal’s longstanding unbeaten record in the WSL.
Smilla Holmberg arrived as a young star from Hammarby in January 2026, but had already caught the eye in the summer of 2025, at the Euros in Switzerland, notably against Germany when she scored in the 4-1 victory, and of course against England, until the penalty shootout. In a team filled with iconic, experienced players like Kosovare Asllani, Fridolina Rolfo, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Stina Blackstenius, Holmberg more than held her own.
Nothing thrown at Holmberg since then seems beyond her. Instantly chucked into the inaugural Champions Cup just weeks after her arrival, she rose to the challenge. In the cups and the Champions League she is always ready to either fly down the right flank as wingback or winger, or even fill in as an emergency centre-back. At the back end of last season she showed her goal-scoring prowess against Leicester by netting twice, and now she’ll be forever remembered for her last minute feat against United.
With no major tournament this summer, Holmberg and the rest of the squad have been able to gel much more across pre-season training and friendlies, notably with a handful of new summer signings. Yet she still seems to be in awe of where she is now. Very much in dream-come-true territory.
I asked Holmberg a bit more about this…
With you, Smilla, football is a really serious business. And obviously, on Saturday [against United] it was really exciting for you. But how much are you enjoying the whole thing?
Smilla Holmberg: As I said, when I joined the club, it’s a dream to play for Arsenal and to wear the badge.
I’m proud every time I put the shirt on in the training and in the games.
So I’m enjoying it every day.
And yeah, it’s a dream, and I want to keep improving.
And can you tell me how important it’s been having Stina [Blackstenius] here to help you?
Whenever we see you around you’re always with her. So could you talk about your friendship?
Yeah, of course.
She has meant a lot to me, and she still means a lot me.
To have her when I came in January with a new country, a new team, with different cultures…
She was everything I needed at this moment.
And now we also live together. So I think we’re closer than ever.
Yeah, I’m pleased with her!
As Arsenal’s first two Champions League ties come into focus, I wanted to know more about how Renée Slegers could use these to jump-start Arsenal’s season…
I was wondering, putting the two WSL draws aside, can you use the Champions League as a jumping-off point, a launch pad, for the rest of the season?
Renée Slegers: Oh, we look forward to the occasion because it’s also another competition.
We go into Europe again.
We’re going to play Champions League under the lights against international opposition.
So it’s nice.
We go into something new, and this is step one in our Champions League journey.
So, definitely… You really feel excitement and a fresh energy going into this game.
Because you’ve got Koge, and next week you’ve got Paris FC, who played really well in pre-season against you.
I think you actually complimented them, didn’t you?
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, they’re maybe not the most known teams in the world, but they’re two really good teams, and they are very disciplined, and they have they have something to threaten.
With both teams we’re very humble for the task.
Of course, we have to respect what we’re going to play against.
But we definitely see it as an opportunity to show who we are and the things we’ve been doing well…
The Arsenal way, the dominance, then leading into danger and leading to goals.
I
n the training session, you and Chloe Kelly were laughing a lot with each other, and I just wonder what was going on there?
So I was joining a little bit of the session yesterday, and I was in a white bib before the players came from their activations, and they were just going past me.
And so, at the end, we got a team of five in white.
And I said to Chloe, “Now, all of a sudden, everyone’s picking up white bibs here.
What’s happening?”
And then she said, “Because they beat my team.”
And she said, “Yeah, I won yesterday.
So let’s go on to tomorrow…”
And Arsenal do indeed go tomorrow…
UWCL matches: Arsenal v HB Koge Tuesday 22 September at 8pm; Paris FC v Arsenal on Wednesday 30 September at 5.45pm.
Photos: Helen M Jerome
