Arsenal thrashes Manchester City in the Community Shield with a goal in the 23rd second.

Riccardo Calafiori opened the scoring after just 23 seconds, setting the tone for a crushing victory for Arsenal over Manchester City in the Super Cup, held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. This defeat marks a concerning start for Enzo Maresca at the helm of the Cityzens, who failed to find the offensive solution needed to counter the Gunners' superiority.

Calafiori, the left-back, capitalized on a clever pass from Myles Lewis-Skelly to score quickly. Arsenal did not stop there; Kai Havertz doubled the lead with a header following a cross from Christos Tzolis, in a move that sent the fans into ecstasy. Captain Martin Ødegaard also had a standout performance, having seen a shot deflected off the line by Josko Gvardiol before, in the 48th minute, receiving a pass from Tzolis, dribbling past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, and scoring the third goal.

“Absolutely a different class,” commented former Scottish player Ally McCoist, praising Arsenal's third goal. The team delivered a dominant display, with McCoist emphasizing that “there's no escaping the fact that Arsenal dominated,” except for brief moments when City appeared more active.

Arsenal took to the field without William Saliba, who is dealing with a back injury, and Jurrien Timber, who is also sidelined due to a groin issue. On the other hand, Bruno Guimarães, the new £75 million signing, made his debut in midfield, while Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice started on the bench. Arsenal's starting lineup included David Raya, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhães, Cristhian Mosquera, Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Bruno Guimarães, Martin Ødegaard, Noni Madueke, Christos Tzolis, and Kai Havertz.

On the Manchester City side, Savinho and Rodri were absent due to injuries, while Elliot Anderson, the new record signing at £117 million, and Erling Haaland were the team's main hopes. City's starting lineup featured Gianluigi Donnarumma, Abdukodir Khusanov, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Nico O’Reilly, Mateo Kovacic, Claudio Echeverri, Phil Foden, Antoine Semenyo, Erling Haaland, and Jeremy Doku.

With this victory, Mikel Arteta maintains an impressive record, having won all four of his appearances in the Community Shield, two as a player and two as a manager. Arsenal has established itself as one of the most successful clubs in this competition, now with 17 titles, just behind Manchester United. Arsenal's next challenge will be to maintain this impressive form in the league, while Manchester City will need to rethink their strategy to respond to this disappointing performance.