City’s struggles were further underlined by the substitutions of Haaland and £116 million signing Elliot Anderson, neither of whom made a significant impact on the contest
By Njoku Vincent
Arsenal sent a strong warning to their Premier League rivals with a commanding 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield in Cardiff.
The Gunners wasted no time making their mark, taking the lead after just 23 seconds. Myles Lewis-Skelly produced a brilliant pass for Riccardo Calafiori, who calmly finished to give Arsenal a dream start.
The early setback unsettled City, who struggled to cope with Arsenal’s attacking movement and pressure as Enzo Maresca endured a difficult opening to his reign.
Arsenal doubled their advantage through Kai Havertz after £34 million summer signing Christos Tzolis delivered a dangerous ball across the area, allowing the German forward to force the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Tzolis was again instrumental in Arsenal’s third goal, setting up captain Martin Odegaard, who finished neatly just three minutes into the second half to put the result beyond doubt.
Donnarumma endured a night to forget, with his poor handling almost costing City another goal before half-time. He was beaten by Odegaard for the third, while Josko Gvardiol had earlier been forced to clear an effort from the Arsenal captain off the line.
Bukayo Saka also squandered two opportunities that could have made the scoreline even more emphatic.
At the other end, Arsenal’s defence delivered a much-improved performance after conceding eight goals in four pre-season matches.
David Raya denied Erling Haaland with an important save, before Lewis-Skelly reacted quickly to the rebound and Ben White bravely blocked Jeremy Doku’s follow-up effort.
City’s struggles were further underlined by the substitutions of Haaland and £116 million signing Elliot Anderson, neither of whom made a significant impact on the contest.
The absence of Rodri was also noticeable as City struggled to control the midfield and contain Arsenal’s pressure.
For Maresca, the defeat highlighted the scale of the task ahead as he attempts to establish his identity following the end of Pep Guardiola’s long and successful tenure.
For Mikel Arteta, however, the emphatic victory represents an encouraging start to the season and a statement that Arsenal are ready to compete at the highest level again.
With the Premier League campaign yet to begin, Arsenal have already delivered a clear message: they remain one of the teams to beat.