Matthew Gerrard Smith (born 5 October 2000) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays for club

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Career

Arsenal

Born in

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, Smith began his career at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

when he was seven. He progressed through the age groups at Arsenal. He was a part of the Arsenal Academy team that reached the final of the 2017–18 FA Youth Cup. During the 2018–19 season, whilst playing for Arsenal Under-18s, he was given the opportunity to play at a higher age group with six appearances for Arsenal Under-23s. His performances earned him his first professional contract at Arsenal. The next season he played for Arsenal Under-21s during two of their

2019–20 EFL Trophy The 2019–20 EFL Trophy, known as the Leasing.com Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the 39th season in the history of the competition, a knock-out tournament for English football clubs in League One and League Two of the English football sys ...

group matches and was also nominated as the

Premier League 2 The Professional Development League is a system of Football in England, English youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Th ...

Player of the Month Award in January 2020. Due to the break in the

2019–20 Premier League The 2019–20 Premier League was the 28th season of the Premier League, the top English professional association football, football league, since its establishment in 1992, and the 121st season of top-flight English football overall. The season ...

season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confirm ...

, Smith was called up by the Arsenal head coach

Mikel Arteta Mikel Arteta Amatriain (born 26 March 1982) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of club Arsenal F.C., Arsenal. Arteta began his senior club career ...

to train with the first team. He would later be named on the bench for Arsenal for their Premier League match against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. He would continue to be named on the bench for the rest of the season but never played. He was also named on the bench for the

2020 FA Cup Final The 2020 FA Cup final, known officially as the Heads Up FA Cup final, was an association football match played behind closed doors (sport), behind closed doors between Arsenal F.C., Arsenal and Chelsea F.C., Chelsea at Wembley Stadium in London ...

which Arsenal won and earned Smith a winner's medal despite not having made his first team debut for Arsenal.

Loan to Swindon Town

Smith signed on loan for

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

side

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

in August 2020 for the duration of the season. He scored his first goal for Swindon in a 3–1 win against

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

on 12 September 2020. He was recalled by Arsenal on 1 February 2021, having featured 27 times for Swindon, contributing two goals and three assists.

Loan to Charlton Athletic

On 1 February 2021, Smith moved to a different League One side,

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

, on loan for the rest of the 2020-21 season. He made his debut in a 3-1 defeat to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in League One on 2 February, coming on as a substitute for

Andrew Shinnie Andrew Murray Shinnie (born 17 July 1989) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Livingston. Shinnie started his professional career at Scottish Premier League side Rangers in 2006, but only made t ...

in the 77th minute.

Loan to Doncaster Rovers

On 5 July 2021, Smith again returned to League One as he joined

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

on a season-long loan deal, linking back up with manager

Richie Wellens Richard Paul Wellens (born 26 March 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently head coach of EFL League One club Leyton Orient. Wellens began his career at Manchester United be ...

whom he had played under at Swindon.

Return to Arsenal

On 16 June 2023, Arsenal announced that Smith would be leaving the club following the expiration of his contract.

Wigan Athletic

On 1 July 2023 Smith signed for

Style of play

With his technique on the ball and awareness off it, Smith typically operates as a deep-lying midfielder, taking the ball off his center-backs to either spread the play or fire passes through the lines.

Career statistics

Honours

Arsenal *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

: 2019–20

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Matt 2000 births Living people Footballers from Harlow English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Arsenal F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players English Football League players Wigan Athletic F.C. players 21st-century English sportsmen