Three things we learned from Arsenal trashing Man City in Community Shield

Arsenal sent out a warning to the best of the rest with an utterly comprehensive 3-0 destruction of Manchester City in the Community Shield.

The first silverware of the season has been handed out and it may not be the last trophy Martin Odegaard collects in the near future if Sunday’s display is anything to go by.

Here’s what we learned from Sunday’s one-sided stroll in the Cardiff sunshine…

Catch Arsenal if you can

Arsenal were far from flawless champions last season and will begin the new campaign without arguably the division’s best right-back and centre-half in Jurrien Timber and William Saliba.

An injury to David Raya would leave Mikel Arteta depending on human hologram Kepa Arrizabalaga or a Leeds cast-off in Illan Meslier, while Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres are not the sort of first choice forwards you would usually associate with potential back-to-back title winners.

Christos Tzolis, meanwhile, represents Arsenal’s headline attacking signing and although he has given every indication he could be a Leandro Trossard re-gen during pre-season, it remains to be seen whether he’s capable of reproducing his Jupiler Pro League form when the serious stuff starts.

Tough away games at Aston Villa, Brighton and Sunderland are in store over the course of the next few weeks, as well as a London derby against Chelsea, so Arsenal will need to hit the ground running if they are to cement their status as title favourites.

The question marks hanging over them, however, are nothing compared to the cracks the chasing pack are attempting to paper over as Sunday’s demolition highlighted.

With Declan Rice nowhere up to full speed and World Cup winners Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi hardly called upon at the Millennium Stadium, Arsenal’s midfield squad depth, further enhanced by the presence of the silk and steel provided by Bruno Guimaraes, could prove the difference over the course of the next nine months.

Noni Madueke signing under increased scrutiny

The headline omissions from Arsenal’s squad added further clarity, if it were required, regarding the futures of Ethan Nwaneri and Gabriel Martinelli.

Mikel Arteta appears to have made up his mind that, if several high-profile departures are required to balance the books, then two of his more maverick talents are the ones that will have to seek pastures new.

While Martinelli’s career could well benefit from a fresh challenge, it represents a huge source of frustration that in Nwaneri’s case, Arteta has not been able to find a place for a player whose talent has been obvious from the moment he made his debut at a 15-year-old.

That his fate has effectively been sealed by the continued faith the Arsenal boss continues to show in Noni Madueke only adds to the confusion that surrounds some of the champions’ decision making and squad-building strategy.

An underwhelming first season following his £50million move from Chelsea was followed by a World Cup campaign that could hardly be described as ‘reputation-enhancing’.

With Bukayo Saka still working his way back to fitness after his extended break, Madueke started against City and gave a performance that encapsulated his Arsenal career to date with his first three key involvements in the match seeing him cough up possession three different ways.

In mitigation, it must be hard to reconcile with being a professional Saka understudy at both club and international level, but at present he is doing little to suggest he deserves a loftier status or contributing more than Nwaneri did during his breakthrough 2024/25 campaign.

Rodri-less City a work in progress

While it’s clearly far too kneejerk to make any meaningful conclusions from a glorified pre-season friendly, we’ve seen enough of City without their midfield linchpin over the course of their last two years due to injury to suspect that his future could play a huge role in the destination of the title.

City only really began to purr and apply pressure on Arsenal last season once their Spanish metronome was eased back into the starting XI, while he was at his imperious best during the latter stages of the World Cup before being named Player of the Tournament.

Enzo Maresca has a multitude of options at his disposal, regardless of whether or not Rodri ends up at Barcelona, and still may have the likes of Ayyoub Bouaddi and Enzo Fernandez to throw into the mix before the transfer deadline.

Finding the right combination, assuming Rodri does depart, will take time and the sort of patience that Maresca will be fortunate to be afforded.

Elliot Anderson showed few signs of promise on his first start of note in a City shirt, aside from his crossing from deep positions which Erling Haaland could well feast upon as the season unfolds.

The England international, however, offers nowhere near the same level of certainty in possession and in-game nous as the former Ballon d’Or winner and will required a settled, top-class partner if City are to see a consistent early return on their £116 million investment.