Arsenal's dominance illustrates the mountain Maresca's Man City have to climb

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  James OlleyAug 16, 2026, 01:46 PM ET

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  James Olley is a senior soccer writer for ESPN.com. Read his archive here and follow him on Twitter: @JamesOlley.

CARDIFF, Wales -- Matches between these two usually end up with Manchester City putting Arsenal in their place. Not anymore.

The Gunners' 3-0 win in the Community Shield was the sort of schooling they have often been on the receiving end of: this was just their third win from 14 matches against the team that has become their bitter rivals at the top end of the game. Even last season, when Arsenal finally ended their 22-year-wait to win the Premier League, they lost twice to City and avoided a third with a stoppage-time equalizer: a three-game run that included March's Carabao Cup final and April's 2-1 defeat at Etihad Stadium, when City appeared to have wrestled back control of the title race.

It often appeared a manifestation of the confidence that comes from stability and pedigree, born from Pep Guardiola's decade of dominance. Arsenal fought against it -- and their own self-doubt -- for years, and now, in the balmy Cardiff sunshine, suddenly it was City who looked frazzled and wracked with concern.

"We talked about the desire that we have to start the season and to show ourselves how much we want it," said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. "I certainly saw a lot of positive things there against a top opponent.

"Probably there is more belief. You know how to do it, what it takes to win it. And the contribution of everybody because last season that was the biggest asset of the team: every single player contributed to make us champions and we know this year is going to be exactly the same."

The merits of this game are endlessly debated. A stepping stone to bigger things? A proper trophy? A glorified friendly? Beware of definitive conclusions before a Premier League ball is kicked.

Two Guardiola disciples stalked the touchline. Perhaps it is better to be his friend than follow in his footsteps. Only time will tell.

Whatever doubts City fans harbor about Enzo Maresca replacing Guardiola in the dugout this season will have found resonance in this insipid showing despite a strong lineup that included Erling Haaland, Rúben Dias, Phil Foden and £116 million summer signing Elliot Anderson.

But there was no Rodri. And even Guardiola struggled without Rodri. The mismatch in midfield was profound, with Bruno Guimarães starting in the center of the pitch for Arsenal alongside Myles Lewis-Skelly, whose ingenuity got Arsenal off to a lightning-fast start, feeding Riccardo Calafiori to score after just 24 seconds -- the fastest goal in a Community Shield match since 1968.

Rodri continues to be the subject of strong interest from Barcelona, who have had two bids rejected so far. Losing a World Cup- and Ballon d'Or-winning midfielder in a time of obvious flux feels like a big risk. The scale of change -- and loss of leadership -- also includes the departures of long-serving serial winners Bernardo Silva and John Stones, who joined Real Madrid and Inter Milan, respectively, as free agents.

Maresca warned against an overreaction.

"Rodri is a player who just won the World Cup, Ballon d'Or," he said. "He is a top player that all the teams need a player like him. It is not about if we miss Rodri or not. The ones who played today, I think Elliot was quite good, his first game. Mateo [Kovacic].

"But we can find many things [wrong] after this kind of defeat. We just need to analyze in the right way and think about and focus on the next one."

It is an imperfect comparison to cite the way Manchester United were destabilized further by losing chief executive David Gill at the same time as Sir Alex Ferguson, but the point stands that two hugely influential figures at a club departing in the same summer is surely to be avoided if possible. That's especially true when things play out as they did here.

Kai Havertz nodded in Arsenal's second on 28 minutes before Martin Ødegaard danced through the City defense after collecting Christos Tzolis' pass. The Gunners captain walked the ball into the net with embarrassing ease.

City's response was nonexistent, and the gulf in depth -- particularly in midfield -- was stark, even if Jack Grealish made his first City appearance since May 2025 as a second-half substitute. Declan Rice, Martín Zubimendi and Eberechi Eze all came on in Arsenal's engine room.

Chelsea are adamant that Enzo Fernández will not be transferred now that their self-imposed deadline has passed, but City's inclination to test the Londoners' resolve in the final fortnight of the transfer window may grow after this.

And the Gunners fans reveled in the lack of opposition. So often beaten down by City, the glass ceiling has well and truly been shattered, and Arsenal seized the opportunity to stand tall.

Just over half and hour in and 2-0 up, those dressed in red sung "Are you Tottenham in disguise?" before turning their backs to perform City's customary Poznan. By the end, the City section emptied rapidly before the final whistle to a soundtrack of Arsenal supporters singing "Campeones" and "Can we play you every week?"

As City's players collected their runners-up medals, a chant of "Second again, ole ole" broke out, bringing that old trope that City supporters used to mock Arsenal full circle. How times change.

"It is down to the preparation that we did in preseason, the decisions that the boys have taken after the World Cup, to continue to get prepared, to come early and be part of this," Arteta said. "They really wanted to win the competition because it is something that we earned last year, the chance to play City here. Very impressed in the manner we played, especially in the manner that we competed. That is the standard for us. If we drive the standards at this level, I am sure we are going to be really competitive."

City will surely improve when the serious stuff starts, but when was the last time they didn't start the season as favorites? They don't now, and that underlines the task Maresca and City have ahead of them.