Jonas Eidevall has retained the services of Arsenal legend Kelly Smith for the upcoming season, with the Gunners boosted in the dugout by one of the greatest to have played the game.

Smith, who won five league titles and five FA Cups across three spells with Arsenal, returned to the club as an assistant coach midway through last season, with players speaking in glowing terms of her impact around the group.

The 44 year old appeared to confirm that she would stay on as a coach earlier in the summer, when she described her excitement to work with Alessia Russo this season after she joined the Gunners from Manchester United. Smith will work predominantly with Arsenal’s attacking players.

Speaking to arsenal.com, Smith said “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,

“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.”

Smith will join Head Coach Jonas Eidevall in the dugout, along with set-piece specialist Patrick Winqvist, assistant coaches Renee Slegers and Aaron D’Antino, and goalkeeping coach Leanne Hall.

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.”