Image for Arsenal’s title defence started exactly the way the last one ended
Image for Arsenal’s title defence started exactly the way the last one ended
A near-identical scoreline to the Community Shield
Friday’s 3-0 win over Coventry City extended Arsenal’s run of opening-day victories to five straight seasons, and it did so almost identically to how they finished the last one. Kai Havertz opened the scoring in the 15th minute, pouncing on sloppy Coventry play before Bukayo Saka doubled it eight minutes later, and Martin Odegaard added a third within four minutes of the restart, the exact same pattern of scoring that City suffered in the Community Shield five days earlier. Arsenal were 2-0 up at the break in Cardiff too, and 3-0 up within three minutes of the second half starting there as well.
Coventry never got going
Newly promoted Coventry, back in the top flight after 25 years away under Frank Lampard, managed just 0.28 expected goals across the ninety minutes, a stark reality check against a side that outperformed its own 1.8 xG rather than needing to. New signing Christos Tzolis helped set up two of the three goals on his full debut, and William Saliba and Jurrien Timber’s absence through injury barely registered as a problem against opposition that “failed to make a tackle in the first half,” according to Sky Sports’ match report.
Arteta’s pre-match message backed up by the performance
Arteta’s pre-match message about hunger rather than tactics turned out to be a fairly accurate preview of how routine the afternoon actually was. He’d told reporters beforehand, “I feel good, different, hopefully better. I’m more excited than ever, hungrier than ever,” and the performance backed up the appetite without needing to lean on the set-piece efficiency that carried much of last season’s title. All three goals here came from open play, addressing directly the one gap Arteta had flagged in his own side needing to “go to the next level.”
A quiet night for Jarred Gillett
Jarred Gillett’s now-familiar VAR appointment for Arsenal passed without a single incident worth reviewing, extending a run of quiet nights that stretches back further than most Gunners fans could recite off the top of their heads, a contrast to the officiating drama that played out 200 miles north at St James’ Park on Sunday.
The title market reacts
Arsenal’s title price has come in to Evens after matchweek one, as short as 4/5 with some firms, from 5/4 before a ball was kicked, and Friday’s routine 3-0 win was a big part of why. Gambling.com, a platform that also lists the newest names in UK online casinos, covers exactly that kind of market movement across the league, and it’s rare for a defending champion to open two games running, Community Shield and matchday one, without conceding a shot on target that mattered.
Tzolis makes an instant impression
AP’s report on the win noted Tzolis was central to both of the game’s opening two goals within his first competitive appearance, exactly the kind of instant impact new signings are supposed to provide when a title defence needs depth behind an already strong first XI, and it’s a detail that matters more than the eventual scoreline given how thin Arsenal’s squad looked at points last season.
The bigger test is still to come
None of the history around back-to-back champions is settled by one routine win over newly promoted opposition, and Arsenal will find out far more about themselves at Aston Villa in ten days’ time than they did against a Coventry side yet to make a single tackle worth remembering. Lampard’s side will have a quick chance to regroup against Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Cup on Tuesday before hosting fellow promoted club Hull City the following Saturday, and their own opening-day struggles look more like a top-flight adjustment problem than a squad lacking quality after last season’s dominant Championship campaign. But five straight opening-day wins and back-to-back 3-0 scorelines either side of a managerial change at City is as good a start as any defending champion could realistically ask for. For a fuller breakdown of where the real pressure is coming from this season, our season preview covering the run-in to come sets out why holding onto the title might end up being harder than winning it was in the first place.