Arsenal absolutely batter Man City, remind everyone who's boss with Community Shield thrashing

Less than 30 seconds. Twenty-three, to be precise. That's all it took for Riccardo Calafiori to smash one home. A lightning counter, Myles Lewis-Skelly with the surgical pass. City's defence, a shambles. You love to see it.

Then came Christos Tzolis, Arsenal's new £34m toy. This kid's got vision. He set up the next two goals, carving them open with shocking ease. First, he squared it for Kai Havertz, who headed past a truly hapless Gianluigi Donnarumma. Three minutes. That's all Martin Odegaard needed after the restart. Tzolis served him up for the third. Done. Just like that. The lad’s first game. Two assists. Last Arsenal debutant to do that? Willian, back in September 2020. Good company to keep.

City? They looked lost. Rodri was out, suspended. Savinho unavailable. Excuses, excuses. They offered nothing. Zilch. Erling Haaland shuffled off early, a ghost on the pitch. His £116m teammate, Elliot Anderson, was just as anonymous. Jack Grealish did finally make an appearance. His first competitive run since May 2025, if you're keeping track.

Arsenal's backline. That was the real story. Everyone had questions after they shipped eight goals in four pre-season friendlies. Forget those. They were bricks. David Raya pulled off a crucial stop from Haaland. Ben White threw himself in front of Jeremy Doku's shot. Saka, back from injury, even managed to miss a couple of clear chances himself. Didn't matter.

Maresca's got a mess on his hands, a post-Guardiola rebuild that's started with a whimper. Mikel Arteta, though? His side looks primed. They could actually do it. Repeat their Premier League title success. Hasn't happened in 91 years. The last outfit to snag the Community Shield and the league crown in the same season was City. Back in 2018/19. Just a little historical nugget for you.