Mikel Arteta lauded his Arsenal side's appetite to retain their Premier League crown after a commanding 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, a result that cast an early shadow over Enzo Maresca's tenure as City boss.
Arsenal, who claimed the league title last season after a 22-year drought, are now aiming to become champions in consecutive seasons for the first time since the mid-1930s. They made an emphatic statement of intent against City, with Riccardo Calafiori breaking the deadlock after just 24 seconds — the quickest goal in the fixture's history since 1968. Kai Havertz added a second before the break, and captain Martin Ødegaard sealed the win shortly after half-time.
The defeat was a harsh introduction for Maresca, who took charge of City this summer following Pep Guardiola's departure. It marked the joint-worst opening result for any City manager, matching a scoreline City suffered under Harry Newbould back in 1906 — also against Arsenal.
Speaking after the match, Arteta expressed satisfaction not just with the scoreline but with the character his team showed. "I am obviously extremely happy with the performance, the result and winning the first trophy," he said. "We talked about the desire we have to start the season and to show ourselves how much we want it and I saw a lot of positive things against a top opponent. I'm very impressed in the manner that we played, in the manner that we competed. That's the standard for us. If we drive the standards at this level, I'm sure that we're going to be really, really competitive."
When pressed on where that hunger stems from, Arteta pointed to the club's ambition to build on last season's success. "Because we want to go straight again. The desire comes [because] I want to live that moment again. I want to live other moments, even bigger than them... we know what it's going to take. We know the difficulty of the task. We've never done it at this club, to win it again. We know that it's going to demand something special and we are ready for it."
Among the standout performers was new arrival Christos Tzolis, who had a hand in all three goals. Arteta was quick to single him out for praise. "He is a really intelligent boy and he has a massive quality, which is when he is in the last 20-30m [of the pitch] he is so composed to pick people out in and around the box," the manager said. "And also to finish actions and he has shown that again two or three times. He was decisive."
Ødegaard echoed his manager's optimism, suggesting the display was proof Arsenal have the tools to defend their title successfully. "We played some brilliant football," he said. "[It was a] great performance and a great way to start the season... We showed our level today. We've shown we're ready. We're serious and we want to do it again... We want to win everything."
For Maresca, the priority now is reinforcements. City are edging closer to completing a deal for Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi while finalizing Rodri's move to Barcelona. Rodri did not feature in Cardiff, with Elliot Anderson deployed in midfield instead, while Jack Grealish made his first appearance for the club since May 2025 after coming on as a substitute.
"Any new signing, the sooner they arrive the better because we are starting the Premier League in one week," Maresca said, looking ahead to City's league opener against Bournemouth. Despite the heavy defeat, he remained measured. "In general I'm always concerned, even when we win games so imagine how [concerned] that we didn't win the game," he added. "It's just the beginning... the reaction was good after conceding the first goal and now try to reset and analyse the game."
Based on reporting from The Guardian.