Defending delivered an impressive performance in the Community Shield final, comfortably beating Manchester City 3-0 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
The Gunners caught City and new manager Enzo Maresca off guard after just 23 seconds, when Myles Lewis-Skelly played a sublime pass to set up Riccardo Calafiori, who finished calmly to open the scoring as City struggled to cope with the Arsenal pressure in their first game .
Christos Tzolis proved crucial to Arsenal’s remaining two goals. He first swept a precise cross across the face of goal for Kai Havertz to score past Gianluigi Donnarumma, before setting up skipper Martin Odegaard to score the third just three minutes after the second-half restart.
Donnarumma was left stranded by Odegaard’s clever finish, capping off a difficult afternoon behind a makeshift City backline. The Italian keeper had earlier lost the ball just before the break, requiring Josko Gvardiol to clear Odegaard’s effort off the goal line, while Bukayo Saka missed two good opportunities to extend Arsenal’s cushion further.
Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to defend their Premier League title
In contrast to pre-season concerns surrounding an Arsenal defence that leaked eight goals in four matches, ‘s backline displayed impressive discipline.
Their commitment to maintaining a clean sheet was best demonstrated in a sequence when David Raya denied Erling Haaland, Lewis-Skelly reacted first to clear the rebound, and Ben White produced a brave block to deny Jeremy Doku’s follow-up effort.
For City, Haaland and Anderson were subbed off after quiet outings, while the absence of Barcelona target Rodri left a noticeable gap in midfield. As Maresca works to construct a winning dynamic following Guardiola’s decade of success, Arteta’s squad appears ready to build on their momentum.
The last side to win the Community Shield and subsequently secure the Premier League title was Manchester City during their 2018/19 domestic treble campaign. While winning the curtain-raiser does not guarantee the league title, this convincing performance provides Arsenal with an ideal foundation as they seek back-to-back top-flight titles for the first time in 91 years.
Arsenal will start the Premier League season on Friday at home against Coventry City.