Arsenal Overrun Coventry In ‘Perfect Start’ To Premier League Title Defence 3-0
Arsenal began their title defence in style with a 3-0 rout of newly-promoted Coventry City at the Emirates Stadium on Friday.
Mikel Arteta’s side backed up their billing as preseason title favorites with a victory that was never in doubt after Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka scored inside 23 minutes.
The result gave Arteta his 150th win in 249 games in charge in the Premier League, with only Pep Guardiola, José Mourinho, Jürgen Klopp and Sir Alex Ferguson having achieved the feat in fewer games.
Kai Havertz opened the scoring for the Gunners with a clinical finish before Bukayo Saka tapped in from close range to put the Gunners in control early in the first half.
Captain Martin Ødegaard scored soon after the break to further the party atmosphere in N7 as the Gunners underlined their credentials as title favourites.
After winning their first league title in 22 years last season, Arsenal have their sights on becoming back-to-back English champions for the first time since they won three in a row between 1932 and 1935.
It was an inauspicious start to Coventry’s first game back in the Premier League in 25 years.
Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard led Coventry back to the top flight after winning England’s second-tier championship last season.
But despite spending in excess of £120 million ($163 million) on seven new signings this summer, Coventry struggled to seriously threaten the champions and didn’t have an effort on goal until the 86th minute.
“It is a big learning curve for the players but the lads kept going right to the end,” Lampard said. “The important thing for me is to remain positive because Arsenal away will not define our season, it really won’t. Now we have to look to see how we can improve.”
First the Greece international stole possession to feed defender Riccardo Calafiori, who squared the ball for Havertz to slot home in the 15th minute.
Havertz scored only twice in the league last season after he was sidelined for almost five months with a knee injury sustained on the opening weekend.
But after he started, and scored, in Arsenal’s crushing 3-0 win over Man City five days ago, the Germany international was retained in the lineup — in favor of former Coventry striker Viktor Gyökeres — and back on the scoresheet.
Havertz has now scored seven goals in his past eight matches with club and country dating back to last season’s Champions League final.
Tzolis then sent a cross in from the left that goalkeeper Carl Rushworth managed to push into the path of Saka, who scored into an empty net in the 23rd.
“Amazing, he played a brilliant game,” Ødegaard added of the new signing. “He has been brilliant all preseason. He’s so lively, it’s hard to defend him. He’s a really intelligent player, he always looks up and finds the right pass.”
There were question marks over the fitness of Rice and Saka during England’s run to the semifinals of the World Cup.
And both were, perhaps tellingly, withdrawn after the hour mark here.
Ødegaard added the third shortly after the break after his scuffed shot looped in out of reach of Rushworth.
The Norway international gave an apologetic shrug as a celebration.
“It was not the best finish, but I was there,” Ødegaard said.
At the other end, the only time Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya was troubled was when a speculative overhead kick from Loum Tchaouna from outside the box sailed just high of the bar in the 42nd.
The visitors’ only effort on target came late on, when Jack Rudoni managed only a weak header straight at Raya.
ESPN
