How Arsenal dismantled a lacklustre Manchester City in the Community Shield

Mikel Arteta has finally shown his mettle as manager of the Gunners, taking them to a long-overdue English top-flight title, and coming so close to a maiden Champions League.

See all the stats from the match here.

City behind within 24 seconds

Enzo Maresca has the unenviable task of following in Pep Guardiola's footsteps, and the Community Shield in Cardiff was his first opportunity to show that the Cityzens are in good hands.

Though Arsenal had won their last five Community Shields, eight of the last 10 winners had been the FA Cup holders rather than the league champions, so there was some likelihood pre-match that this edition could be too close to call.

That notion went out of the window within 24 seconds as Riccardo Calafiori slotted home after an incredible inch-perfect assist from Myles Lewis-Skelly.

It set the tone for a dominant performance from the North Londoners, and City never really got going after such an early blow.

Lack of midfield control without Rodri

Without Barcelona-bound Rodri in place to orchestrate from the midfield, Maresca's XI were often at sixes and sevens, and that lack of cohesion simply invited Arsenal onto them at every opportunity.

Christos Tzolis was excellent on debut, and the 14 one-on-one duels he contested during the game were the joint most of any player on the pitch.

Three chances created by the Greek were more than anyone else, and to top it off, he also provided two assists, one of which saw Kai Havertz extend Arsenal's lead before half an hour had elapsed.

City's lack of attacking punch could be seen by the fact that they'd had just a long-range Phil Foden effort and a wild off-target swipe from Erling Haaland to show for their efforts in the first 35 minutes.

Backs against the wall for City

Where Arsenal were vibrant and positive in their passing and movement, City were often laboured, and that will be a huge worry for Maresca, even at this early stage.

If there was one thing that characterised the first team under Guardiola, it was the swashbuckling nature of how they would take the game to their opponents, but that was rarely on show in Cardiff.

Ruben Dias at least emerged with some credit, and was often a one-man defensive brick wall against a tide of Arsenal attacks.

10 one-on-one ground duels and seven aerial duels were the best output from his team, though Abdukodir Khusanov deserves the plaudits too, for winning all nine of his individual battles.

Odegaard seals the win

Jeremy Doku's one shot of the game arrived just before half-time, and had it not been cleared off the line, City would've arguably seized the initiative.

Along with another Haaland effort and one from Mateo Kovacic, it was a brief respite as the Gunners finished the half much the stronger of the two teams.

They also began the second in the same manner as they'd started the game, and once Tzolis had found Martin Odegaard, who sat down Gianluigi Donnarumma before firing home Arsenal's third, it was game over.

A flurry of substitutions from both sides before the hour mark didn't change the game to any great degree, save for City trying to claw back some pride.

Grealish gives Maresca some food for thought

One of those to enter the fray, Jack Grealish, certainly didn't do his chances of a recall any harm at all, with six one-on-ones contested and two dribbles attempted, the most aside from Doku from a City perspective.

Two chances created were also as many as his teammates managed, with an 87.5% pass completion serving him well, too.

Whether that'll be enough for a reprieve under Maresca will only be known over the course of the next few weeks, as all the while the transfer window remains open, there's a chance for Grealish to be moved on.

There were still positives for the Italian to take from the game, in that his side had more collective possession than the Gunners (58.7% to 41.3%), had more shots at goal (12 to nine), had almost double the final third entries (70 to 36) and nearly 100 more passes in the final third (172 to 78).

Maresca on a hiding to nothing?

However, it was the often disjointed nature of their play which may have been a worry for supporters who are expecting Maresca to hit the ground running this season.

An unfair expectation post-Pep in the same way as David Moyes felt the pressure taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Man Utd? Undoubtedly.

Though Maresca did take the job with his eyes open and the experience of being a coach at the club previously.

Perhaps the scale of the job in hand sans-Rodri will have hit home at the end of a disappointing 90 minutes in Wales.