RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info By Al Jazeera Staff and AFP Published On 21 Aug 2026 21 Aug 2026 Arsenal made the perfect start to their Premier League title defence with a stylish 3-0 win over Coventry in the opening game of the season.
Mikel Arteta’s side brushed aside promoted Coventry in emphatic fashion at the Emirates Stadium on Friday, underlining their determination to retain the title.
Kai Havertz struck early in the first half and Bukayo Saka doubled the lead before Martin Odegaard netted after the interval to complete Arsenal’s masterclass.
The Gunners have not successfully defended the English title since the 1930s, but Arteta insisted this week his players are hungry for more silverware.
Just 89 days after rounding off their title-winning campaign with a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace in May, the champions showed no signs of being sated by that long-awaited triumph as they put Coventry to the sword.
The only downside for Arsenal was the realisation they have to wait 10 days for their next game at Aston Villa.
Worryingly for Arsenal’s rivals, they are only getting stronger and new signing Ezri Konsa was given a warm welcome when he was presented to fans before kickoff.
The England defender completed his 51 million-pound ($69m) move from Villa earlier on Friday and could make his debut against his old club on August 31.
Greek winger Christos Tzolis dazzled on his first league start for Arsenal after his close-season move from Club Brugge.
Fellow new signing Bruno Guimaraes was hardly missed after being sidelined by an injury suffered in last weekend’s Community Shield win over Manchester City.
Coventry were playing their first Premier League game since 2001 after winning the Championship last season to end their long exile from the top flight.
Having spent a season in the fourth tier, plunged into administration and twice been forced to ground-share away from Coventry in the 25 years since they were last in the Premier League, the return of Frank Lampard’s side was a feelgood moment.
But Arsenal had no room for sentiment as they dispatched Coventry in merciless style.
In their first home league game since being crowned champions last season, Arsenal strode onto the pitch with the acclaim of the sellout 60,000 crowd ringing in their ears.
The party atmosphere created by Arsenal’s jubilant fans in north London was a fitting backdrop to a swaggering performance.
Tzolis, who provided two assists in the Community Shield, nearly bagged his first Arsenal goal in the opening minutes, firing just over from Odegaard’s pass.
He went close again moments later with a close-range effort that was cleared off the line by Bobby Thomas.
It was no surprise when Arsenal took the lead in ruthless fashion after 15 minutes.
Coventry defender Milan van Ewijk surrendered possession carelessly on the right flank and Riccardo Calafiori pounced, whipping in a cross that Havertz met with a clinical low strike from just inside the penalty area.
Arteta’s rampant team scented blood and went for the kill in the 23rd minute.
Rice and Odegaard exchanged passes to work the ball out to Tzolis, whose cross was pushed out by Coventry keeper Carl Rushworth into the path of Saka for a simple close-range finish.
Coventry had been reduced to helpless bystanders by Arsenal’s ceaseless pressing and clever movement.
If it was not already over, Odegaard put the result beyond doubt in the 49th minute.
Saka and Ben White teamed up to rip through the Coventry defence before Odegaard’s miscued shot from 10 yards scuffed past Rushworth’s weak attempted save.
Odegaard told Sky Sports that it was good to seal the first victory of the season in the opening game.
“The first game is always a bit nervy. They played well from the start. They have a lot of physical players, and they gave us a good battle,” he said.
“After that we controlled the game well, and were pretty solid. We looked good out there. There are things we could have done better. We could have scored and created more chances.”
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