Arsenal began their Premier League title defense with a commanding 3-0 home victory Friday against newly promoted Coventry City.
Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard scored as Arsenal dominated possession and territory, while Coventry failed to register a shot on target until the 86th minute.
Christos Tzolis, making his Premier League debut after joining Arsenal in the summer, had an immediate effect and played a role in the buildup to the hosts’ opening two goals.
The Gunners broke the deadlock in the 15th minute after Tzolis pressured Coventry defender Milan van Ewijk into losing possession. Riccardo Calafiori quickly found Havertz in the center of the penalty area, and the German forward finished first-time into the far corner.
Eight minutes later, Tzolis’ low cross was parried by Carl Rushworth into the path of Saka, who scored from close range to double Arsenal’s advantage.
Arsenal continued to dominate after the break and added a third goal in the 49th minute.
Declan Rice found Odegaard with a pass through the Coventry defense, and the Norwegian combined with Saka and Ben White before converting White’s cutback despite failing to make clean contact.
It was a second costly error by Rushworth, who joined Coventry for a substantial fee after keeping 17 clean sheets last season.
Arsenal controlled the tempo for the remainder of the match and continued to create opportunities, with Tzolis forcing another save from Rushworth in the 66th minute.
Coventry, back in the Premier League after a 25-year absence, finally tested David Raya in the 86th minute, when Jack Rudoni’s header was comfortably saved.
The victory also marked a milestone for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who became the fifth manager to reach 150 Premier League wins in less than 250 matches, joining Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp.
For Coventry, the defeat marked a difficult return to the top flight, with Frank Lampard’s side spending most of the match pinned inside their own half by the reigning champions.