  We show how the directional collective response of atomic arrays to light can
be exploited for the dissipative generation of entangled atomic states,
relevant for e.g. quantum metrology. We consider an atomic array illuminated by
a paraxial beam of a squeezed-vacuum field and demonstrate that
quantum-squeezing correlations are dissipatively transferred to the array
atoms, resulting in an atomic spin-squeezed steady state. We find that the
entanglement transfer efficiency and hence the degree of spin squeezing are
determined by the resonant optical reflectivity of the array. Considering
realistic cases of finite-size array and illuminating beam, we find how the
spin-squeezing strength scales with system parameters, such as the number of
layers in the array and its spatial overlap with the beam. We discuss
applications in atomic clocks both in optical and microwave domains.
