Arsenal won the Community Shield for the 18th time after delivering a dominant performance in a 3-0 victory over Manchester City at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday.
The Premier League champions took the lead after only 23 seconds, with Riccardo Calafiori finishing after being played in by an excellent pass from Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The early goal did not prompt Arsenal to sit back. They maintained an intense tempo throughout the 90 minutes and remained the more dangerous side, repeatedly testing a Manchester City defence that struggled to cope with their movement and attacking pressure.
Manchester City produced only a handful of opportunities and were unable to impose themselves on the match for sustained periods. Arsenal controlled almost every aspect of the contest, despite City enjoying a degree of possession.
Martin Ødegaard helped create the second goal in the 28th minute when he delivered a cross into the area. New signing Christos Tzolis headed the ball across goal, allowing Kai Havertz to complete the move with a second header into the net.
City had possession without creating enough to seriously trouble Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, and the Gunners went into half-time with a comfortable 2-0 advantage.
New Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca attempted to change the course of the game after the interval by introducing Jack Grealish, Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki. However, the substitutions made little difference to either the performance or the scoreline.
Arsenal continued to dictate the pace and added a third goal in the 48th minute. Tzolis produced another fine pass, this time finding Martin Ødegaard, who broke into the Manchester City penalty area before calmly placing the ball beyond goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The third goal effectively ended City’s hopes of a comeback and appeared to drain confidence from their players. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta then made a series of changes, using the opportunity to rest some of his key players and give others valuable minutes, including Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze.
Arsenal continued to threaten in the closing stages and missed several further chances that could have made the margin of victory even greater at the start of the English season.
For Manchester City, the heavy defeat may raise concerns among supporters as they prepare for life after the departure of long-serving manager Pep Guardiola at the end of last season. Maresca has taken charge in his place, but his first major test ended with City comprehensively outplayed by the side they were expected to challenge at the top of English football.
Arsenal’s success gives them their 18th Community Shield and provides Arteta’s team with an emphatic opening statement before the new campaign gets under way.
