Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield on Sunday, giving Mikel Arteta an early-season triumph while condemning new City boss Enzo Maresca to defeat in his first game in charge in the traditional curtain-raiser to the campaign.
With their fourth victory over City in the fixture, Arsenal maintained their 100% win record over their opponents with an emphatic performance at the Principality Stadium, where Riccardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard found the net.
“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.”
Having failed to convince in pre-season performances that raised a few eyebrows, Arsenal exploded into action with devastating effect right from kick-off, needing just 23 seconds to silence any lingering doubts about their readiness.
Myles Lewis-Skelly was deployed in midfield and he threaded an excellent pass to set up left-back Calafiori, who calmly finished past Gianluigi Donnarumma to give Arsenal the perfect start against the FA Cup champions.
The early strike — the first goal scored in the opening minute of the fixture in 58 years — set the tone for a dominant display where Arsenal looked fitter, sharper, more confident and full of attacking verve.
City did not have a clear opportunity until the 20th minute, when Phil Foden curled a shot from range but David Raya was up to the task, diving to his right to deny the midfielder, and later saved a shot from Erling Haaland.
Arsenal doubled their lead when Odegaard floated in a cross to the far post, where new signing Christos Tzolis headed the ball back across goal for Havertz to head home, with Donnarumma accidentally spilling the ball over the line.
Arsenal needed just three minutes after the restart to make it 3-0, with Tzolis grabbing his second assist when he set up Odegaard, whose delicate first touch took the ball past Josko Gvardiol before he beat a wrong-footed Donnarumma with ease.
Maresca’s side showed only flashes of their attacking threat, but Raya stood firm to preserve a clean sheet while Haaland — last season’s Golden Boot winner with 27 goals — was kept quiet and withdrawn before the hour mark.
Arsenal kick off the new Premier League campaign on Friday against Coventry City, and Odegaard said they were going to play on the front foot to defend their crown.
“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, referring to the Champions League title that slipped through their fingers in the final against Paris Saint-Germain.
“At this club, you want to win all of them. But of course, that’s a big one.”
The Gunners’ victory over the FA Cup holders gave them their second trophy in four months and their 18th Community Shield title overall.
The match was played at the Principality Stadium while Wembley hosts Canadian singer The Weeknd’s ‘After Hours til Dawn’ tour.
