Arsenal delivered a commanding 3-0 victory over Manchester City in Sunday’s Community Shield, handing manager Mikel Arteta an early-season triumph while dealing new City boss Enzo Maresca a defeat in his first match in charge of the traditional season curtain-raiser.
The win marked Arsenal’s fourth victory over City in the fixture, extending their unbeaten record against their rivals in the competition with a dominant display at the Principality Stadium, where goals from Riccardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard sealed the result.
“We showed our level today, we showed that we’re ready,” Odegaard told TNT Sports. “I think we showed that we’re serious, we want to do it again. There’s more trophies to go for and that’s the aim.”
Despite underwhelming pre-season form that had raised concerns among fans, Arsenal came out firing from the first whistle, needing just 23 seconds to settle any doubts about their readiness for the campaign.
Myles Lewis-Skelly, deployed in midfield, threaded a brilliant pass to left-back Calafiori, who calmly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand Arsenal a dream start against the reigning FA Cup champions.
The goal, the fastest scored in the fixture in 58 years, set the tone for a performance in which Arsenal looked sharper, fitter and more assured throughout.
Manchester City struggled to create clear openings, managing their first real chance only in the 20th minute when Phil Foden curled an effort from distance, only for David Raya to dive to his right and deny him.
Raya was called into action again later, producing another important save to keep out Erling Haaland.
Arsenal doubled their advantage when Odegaard floated a cross to the far post, where new signing Christos Tzolis headed the ball back across goal for Havertz to nod home, with Donnarumma inadvertently helping the ball over the line.
Three minutes into the second half, Arsenal made it 3-0 as Tzolis registered his second assist of the game, setting up Odegaard, who took a delicate first touch past Josko Gvardiol before slotting the ball past a wrong-footed Donnarumma with ease.
Maresca’s side offered only occasional glimpses of their attacking quality, but Raya remained solid to preserve a clean sheet, while Haaland, last season’s Golden Boot winner with 27 goals, was largely subdued and withdrawn before the hour mark.
Arsenal will begin their Premier League campaign on Friday against Coventry City, with Odegaard insisting the team intends to approach the new season aggressively as they look to defend their title.
“We’re going to attack it. We want to do it again. It was an unbelievable achievement and experience for all of us,” he said. “When you get the taste of how nice it is, you want to do it again.
“And there’s also a few other ones we want to take,” he added, referencing the Champions League title Arsenal narrowly missed out on after their final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
“At this club, you want to win all of them. But of course, that’s a big one.”
(The Whistler)
