Arsenal rout Manchester City in Community Shield masterclass

CARDIFF (Agencies): Arsenal powered to a 3-0 win against Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday, 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 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. Their vibrant performance was the perfect warm-up before promoted Coventry visit the 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.

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. City talisman Erling Haaland was largely anonymous, wasting two good chances in the first half. Arsenal captain Odegaard showed his Norway team-mate 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 won’t be the last silverware lifted by Odegaard this season.