Arsenal's Martin Odegaard celebrates scoring his sides third goal during the Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium, London. (Image: PA)
Arsenal's Martin Odegaard celebrates scoring his sides third goal during the Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium, London. (Image: PA)
Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win over newly promoted Coventry City on Friday evening, laying down a marker to open the Premier League season.
Everything went to plan for Mikel Arteta’s side in a free-flowing attacking performance, with Kai Havertz opening the scoring and Bukayo Saka doubling the lead inside 25 minutes to make it a comfortable night for the Gunners.
New signing Christos Tzolis was a bright spark throughout, playing an important part in both of the opening goals. In the first, he showed his defensive work rate, pressing from the front to win the ball in Coventry’s third to set off the attack, and flashing a dangerous first-time ball across goal to create the second goal.
In a summer where many fans were clambering after Vinicius Jr and other big name left wingers, Tzolis already looks a shrewd signing with his directness and tactical intelligence adding a new dimension to the attack.
Skipper Martin Ødegaard netted the third goal with an unorthodox strike, capping off an impressive display. Between the Coventry and Manchester City games, we’ve seen the best version of Ødegaard, moving freely with swagger and a smile on his face, and that’s a dangerous prospect for the rest of the league.
The captain looks to be over his injury issues, and the supporting cast of Saka, Havertz and a healthy Ben White helped to bring the best out of him, which we haven’t seen for a couple of years.
It’s uncertain if a marquee attacking signing will come through the door with only a week left of the window, but when this front four is up to speed and firing, that deal isn’t as pressing.
On the defensive side, the signing of Ezri Konsa was confirmed before the Coventry game, offering a Premier League-ready option to deputise and push the injured William Saliba and Jurrien Timber. Last summer, Arsenal spent over £50 million on Noni Madueke to cover Bukayo Saka in the event of injury and are applying the same logic to the defence this year.
Up next, Arsenal travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa at 8pm on Monday night. Villa fell to a 4-0 defeat to Brighton on opening day, having lost key players throughout the spine of their team during the window, clearly struggling as they adjust to the new iteration of the team under Unai Emery.