Champions delight manager by \u2018winning the first trophy\u2019<\/p>\n
Maresca wants Manchester City signings to arrive soon<\/p>\n
Mikel Arteta said his Arsenal players demonstrated their hunger to defend the Premier League title in their Community Shield triumph over Manchester City. Arsenal, who ended their 22-year wait last season and are seeking to win back-to-back top-flight titles for the first time since 1934-35, beat City 3-0 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in Enzo Maresca\u2019s first significant match in charge.<\/p>\n
Riccardo Calafiori opened the scoring after 24 seconds, the fastest goal in the competition since Bobby Owen\u2019s strike for City in 1968, before Kai Havertz doubled Arsenal\u2019s lead and their captain, Martin \u00d8degaard, completed the scoring on 48 minutes. The 3-0 defeat represented the joint-heaviest loss for a City manager in their first game in charge, with Harry Newbould the most recent to suffer a three-goal opening defeat \u2013 4-1, also to Arsenal, in 1906. It is also Maresca\u2019s joint-heaviest defeat as a manager in England.<\/p>\n
Arteta was delighted with Arsenal\u2019s convincing display. \u201cI am obviously extremely happy with the performance, the result and winning the first trophy,\u201d he said. \u201cWe talked about the desire we have to start the season and to show ourselves how much we want it and I saw a lot of positive things against a top opponent. I\u2019m very impressed in the manner that we played, in the manner that we competed. That\u2019s the standard for us. If we drive the standards at this level, I\u2019m sure that we\u2019re going to be really, really competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about the desire displayed by his team, he said: \u201cBecause we want to go straight again. The desire comes [because] I want to live that moment again. I want to live other moments, even bigger than them \u2026 we know what it\u2019s going to take. We know the difficulty of the task. We\u2019ve never done it at this club, to win it again. We know that it\u2019s going to demand something special and we are ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arteta praised the performance of Christos Tzolis, who was involved in all three goals. \u201cHe is a really intelligent boy and he has a massive quality, which is when he is in the last 20-30m [of the pitch] he is so composed to pick people out in and around the box,\u201d said the Arsenal manager. \u201cAnd also to finish actions and he has shown that again two or three times. He was decisive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00d8degaard said the team\u2019s performance was evidence they are capable of winning back-to-back titles. \u201cWe played some brilliant football,\u201d said Arsenal\u2019s captain. \u201c[It was a] great performance and a great way to start the season. I always want to help the team as much as possible with goals and assists. I want to score more goals. We showed our level today. We\u2019ve shown we\u2019re ready. We\u2019re serious and we want to do it again. We want to attack it. We want to do it again. When you get a taste of how nice it is you want to do it again. We want to win everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maresca acknowledged City, who are closing on a deal to sign Lille\u2019s Ayyoub Bouaddi as they prepare to sell Rodri to Barcelona, would welcome new arrivals before their league opener at home to Bournemouth on Sunday. Rodri did not travel to Cardiff, where Elliot Anderson started in midfield, and Jack Grealish arrived from the substitutes\u2019 bench for his first City appearance since May 2025. \u201cAny new signing, the sooner they arrive the better because we are starting the Premier League in one week and if they start to work with us as soon as possible it\u2019s better that they can also understand the way we want to play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Maresca said he was not alarmed by the manner of the defeat. \u201cIn general I\u2019m always concerned, even when we win games so imagine how [concerned] that we didn\u2019t win the game,\u201d said the Italian, who succeeded Pep Guardiola this summer. \u201cIt\u2019s just the beginning, we have many things that we need to do better, I think the reaction was good after conceding the first goal and now try to reset and analyse the game and think from Tuesday about the next game.\u201d<\/p>\n