Arsenal secured the Community Shield with a decisive 3-0 victory over Manchester City at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. This triumph marks a strong start to the season for Arsenal, who are aiming to win back-to-back top-flight titles for the first time since the 1934-35 season.
Riccardo Calafiori opened the scoring for Arsenal after just 24 seconds, marking the fastest goal in the competition since 1968. Kai Havertz then doubled their lead, and captain Martin Ødegaard completed the scoring in the 48th minute.
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's manager, expressed his delight with the team's performance, stating, “I am obviously extremely happy with the performance, the result and winning the first trophy.” He added that the team showed their hunger to defend the Premier League title, setting a high standard for the upcoming season. Ødegaard echoed this sentiment, saying the team's performance demonstrated their readiness to compete for consecutive titles.
For Manchester City, this 3-0 defeat was a challenging start for new manager Enzo Maresca, representing his joint-heaviest loss in England. Maresca acknowledged the need for new signings to arrive soon, especially with the Premier League season commencing in one week. He mentioned that City are close to signing Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille and are preparing to sell Rodri to Barcelona.