Arsenal made an impressive start when they defeated Man City 3-0 in the English Super Cup match. This victory not only brought titles but also showed that the balance between the two teams may be changing after many years "The Gunners" have often been inferior to their opponents.
In the last 14 encounters, Arsenal has only won 3 matches against Man City. Even last season, when ending 22 years of waiting to win the Premier League, Mikel Arteta's team still lost twice to Man City and only avoided the third defeat thanks to an equalizer in injury time.
However, at Cardiff, that image was reversed. Arsenal entered the game proactively, put strong pressure and made good use of the gaps that Man City revealed. Conversely, Enzo Maresca's team showed a lack of ideas, especially in the midfield area.
We talked about the desire to start the season and wanted to prove how determined we are. I have certainly seen many positive signs in the match against a strong opponent.
Perhaps now we have more faith. We know what we have to do and how to win. The contribution of all players is the biggest asset of the team last season. Everyone contributed to helping Arsenal become the champion and we know this season will be the same" - Arteta said.
Arsenal has changed
Bruno Guimaraes started alongside Myles Lewis-Skelly in midfield, helping Arsenal control the central area better. Lewis-Skelly also left his mark right at the beginning of the match when he assisted Riccardo Calafiori to open the score after only 24 seconds.
Kai Havertz doubled the gap in the 28th minute, before Martin Odegaard scored the third goal after halftime. Man City almost did not create a significant response.
The difference became even more obvious when Arsenal put Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Eberechi Eze on the field. Meanwhile, Man City is missing Rodri and must rely on Elliot Anderson in his first appearance for the team.
Man City still has a lot to do
Rodri is not the only absence that creates space on Man City's side. Bernardo Silva and John Stones have also left the team, meaning Maresca must rebuild a team lacking many leaders who contributed to creating a successful era under Guardiola.
Elliot Anderson may become part of the future, but the performance against Arsenal shows that Man City still needs more time to find the right structure.
Meanwhile, Arsenal enjoyed the victory emotionally. "Gunners" fans continuously mocked the opponent, and the area for Man City fans quickly thinned before the final whistle sounded.
Community Shield cannot decide the season yet, but the 3-0 victory shows that Arsenal has somewhat shaken off the psychological fear against Man City. As for Maresca, this defeat is an early reminder of the scale of the task he has to face in the process of taking over Guardiola's legacy.
