Arsenal powered to a commanding 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield, delivering a swaggering statement of intent ahead of their Premier League title defence. Mikel Arteta's side used the annual curtain-raiser to the English top-flight season as an opportunity to prove their long-awaited title triumph has done nothing to sate their appetite for success.
The Gunners took just 24 seconds on Sunday to show new City boss Enzo Maresca the standard required to keep up with the champions. Riccardo Calafiori's quick-fire opening goal was followed by a clinical Kai Havertz header before half-time. Arsenal overwhelmed sloppy City with their trademark intensity, and Martin Odegaard netted after the interval to cap a resounding victory.
The game at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales also allowed Arteta to parade Arsenal's close-season recruits. Bruno Guimaraes, signed from Newcastle for 75 million pounds ($101m), slotted into midfield with ease, while Christos Tzolis, lured from Club Brugge for 34 million pounds ($46m), gave a lively display including two assists.
The north Londoners will start a campaign as champions for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Already installed as favourites to win their first successive English titles since the 1930s, Arsenal look primed for a sustained spell as the Premier League's preeminent force. Their vibrant Community Shield performance was the perfect warm-up before promoted Coventry visit London's Emirates Stadium for the opening game of the Premier League season on August 21.
It was a dispiriting wake-up call for Maresca, who will have noted how much more dynamic and cohesive Arsenal looked compared to his spluttering team. Pep Guardiola won 20 trophies in a glorious decade in Manchester, including the FA Cup and League Cup in his farewell season, but City have not won the title since 2024 and finished seven points behind Arsenal in second place last season. Hand-picked to succeed Guardiola after quitting Chelsea in January following a turbulent reign lasting less than two seasons, Maresca now knows it will take a huge effort to close the gap on Arsenal, starting with City's opener at home to Bournemouth on August 23.
Arteta believes his players are still "hungry" for trophies, with their painful Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties in May providing motivation for this season. The Gunners took less than a minute to underline Arteta's point with a beautifully crafted opener. Myles Lewis-Skelly featured in Arsenal's midfield despite being linked to Chelsea and Manchester United, and the teenager showed why he is in demand with a deft pass that split the City defence. Calafiori surged onto Lewis-Skelly's ball, evading City's woeful marking to slot a composed finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma from 12 yards.
The left-back's goal was the quickest in the Community Shield since 1968, and rampant Arsenal struck again in the 27th minute. Martin Odegaard was gifted space to float a cross to the far post, and Tzolis, left unmarked by Abdukodir Khusanov, headed it back into the six-yard box, where Havertz climbed above Ruben Dias to nod home. In his first showpiece occasion for City after his 116 million pound ($157m) move from Nottingham Forest, England midfielder Elliot Anderson struggled to exert any influence. City talisman Erling Haaland was largely anonymous, wasting two good chances in the first half.
Arsenal captain Odegaard showed his Norway teammate how to do it three minutes after half-time. Tzolis rolled a pass into Odegaard's path, and he slalomed through the City defence before leaving Donnarumma embarrassed with a clever dummy and close-range finish. Only City, in 2019, have gone on to become Premier League champions among the previous 15 winners of the Community Shield. On the evidence of their stroll in the Cardiff sunshine, Arsenal's 18th Community Shield victory will not be the last silverware lifted by Odegaard this season.
Odegaard said his side had shown "their level" today. "We wanted to start with a trophy, and we did," he said. "We played some brilliant football. I want to score more goals and it's a good way to start."
Source: www.aljazeera.com