RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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It would be unwise to get too high or too low on either Arsenal or Manchester City off the back of the most semi-competitive game either will play between now and early June. The Community Shield is not much of an indicator of anything, hence why its winners have gone on to claim the Premier League title in just one of the last 15 years.
On the evidence of this 3-0 win for Arsenal alone, you'd quite strongly fancy the champions to disprove the possibility of any hocus pocus that keeps those who claim England's first prize from earning its biggest. For so many other reasons you would probably be vindicated next year.
From the first whistle and the one mere seconds later that signified Riccardo Calafiori's opener would stand, Arsenal played in the fashion their supporters so desperately wanted to see, even as they ended their 22-year wait for the Premier League title.
This was an Arsenal that had got its swagger back, that played with a disdain for the opposition that can only be shown by those with a championship medal back home. The route to the title had been one of emotional whiplash, in every "it's so over" there emerging a "we're so back" for the ages. Today was for cutting loose, the victorious supporters in Cardiff's Principality Stadium not so politely informing the smaller Manchester City contingent that they had seen the champions and should now consider getting home post haste.
No one typified this newfound ease and grace quite like captain Martin Odegaard. Even as he followed in the footsteps of Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira, the Norwegian had endured trying times, wracked by injuries, struggling for goals, his leadership oft questioned given he was not as blood and thunder as his predecessors. Then again, even at his best, Adams was never sitting down goalkeepers and rolling the ball past him like Odegaard did for Arsenal's third, a brilliantly constructed goal in which Christos Tzolis provided a composed assist.
That would be the second for the Greece international, a breakout star of preseason who might not have the name recognition of Vinicius Junior but who seems to tick many boxes Arteta would have for a left winger. Not only does he chase back the opposition to his own box, he looks like he can make contributions in the opposition area almost as regularly as he did at Club Brugge.
His fellow new signing Bruno Guimaraes could barely have looked more at ease on the beach, dropping between the center backs and pinging the ball around. Myles Lewis-Skelly's excellent assist for Calafiori was a sign of a player not willing to easily give up the hard-earned starting spot he claimed last season. With Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi on the bench, it'll take an almighty scrap just to get on the Arsenal team sheet (one that had no room for the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Ethan Nwaneri).
A performance of champions, certainly, but why wouldn't it be? If Arsenal can't loosen their self-imposed shackles in the Community Shield, when can they? This is a team chasing their first repeat title since before the Second World War, who will have to get the Champions League-sized monkey off their back. Only then will we know if, in the big moments, they still gravitate towards their extremely effective conservatism.
The temptation will be to see Arsenal as having set the level, one that looked well beyond Enzo Maresca in his first game in charge. Certainly, this was not the sort of authoritative way to step into Pep Guardiola's shoes, Arsenal fans chanting that he's "getting sacked in the morning". If that were the case then Guardiola would have been in trouble quite often in recent years. Between 2022 and 2024 City were beaten in each Community Shield. They won the league on every occasion.
When the stakes are higher, City surely won't throw in the towel as they did in the second half today, They barely got out of walking speed after Odegaard's third, 59% possession but barely a shot in anger until Rayan Cherki let swing late on. Given the enmity that has developed between these players in recent years, it is hard to believe that City would give up even in such trying circumstances next time they meet.
Having said that, Maresca would not be well-advised to completely discount what he saw in this heavy defeat. Even before the game began, there was a clear gap in terms of depth and quality. Rodri's absence could be put down to the minor back surgery he underwent after the World Cup but the Ballon d'Or winner may well have played his last game as Barcelona look to secure his services. Having him bed in Elliot Anderson would have been ideal for City. It may not be that they get what they want.
The possibly Tottenham-bound Savinho was missing too, and although he is the sort of player a title contender should be looking to upgrade on, his absence painted a worrying picture of the attacking options available to Maresca. Jack Grealish's time at City's level is done, but he was the first to enter the fray. Rico Lewis, Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez: these are players whose long-term future at the Etihad is in doubt but who took the field as Arsenal were able to leave Mikel Merino unused and limit Eberechi Eze to a cameo.
Then there are coaching questions. Perhaps City sat off Arsenal on the edge of the area because this was a glorified friendly and they were not minded to overexert themselves. However, Maresca's Chelsea team were occasionally this passive around their box too. His new side were robustly punished when they let Odegaard get into his spot on the edge of the box and loft a cross to the back post, Tzolis flicking across for Kai Havertz to head in Arsenal's second.
It was as apparent last season as it was today that there is a gap in squad quality between Arsenal and City that could only be bridged when the elite level quality of Rodri and Erling Haaland combined with the creativity of Guardiola. Maresca was hammering away at trends familiar to those wh...
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