Calafiori’s 23-second strike headlines Arsenal’s 3-0 Community Shield win over Man City | OneFootball

Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield at the Principality Stadium on Sunday.

They broke the deadlock inside 23 seconds. Myles Lewis-Skelly played Riccardo Calafiori in behind, with the Italian rolling the ball into the bottom corner.

Calafiori’s goal was the first scored in the opening minute of the Community Shield since Bobby Owen’s for Man City against West Bromwich Albion in 1968.

City’s first opening came in the 20th minute, when Phil Foden aimed to drill a shot into the bottom corner from inside the area, but David Raya parried it away.

Arsenal responded with an attack of their own as Noni Madueke fed Bruno Guimaraes, who could not pick out a team-mate.

Kai Havertz gave the Gunners a two-goal lead before the half-hour mark, glancing Christos Tzolis’ header past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Erling Haaland missed a chance to halve City’s deficit, firing high and wide after receiving a pass from Jeremy Doku.

Haaland stung Raya’s palms with his next attempt before the Spanish goalkeeper saved Mateo Kovacic’s long-range effort.

Josko Gvardiol made a brilliant goalline clearance, preventing Martin Odegaard from adding to Arsenal’s advantage before half-time.

Three minutes after the break, Arsenal added a third. Tzolis slammed a low pass into Odegaard, who beat Donnarumma before putting the ball into an empty net.

The Gunners almost added to their advantage in the 63rd minute. Substitute Bukayo Saka beat his marker after receiving a pass from Havertz but could only hit the side netting.

Arsenal created another opening when Tzolis rolled the ball to Saka. However, the England international failed to hit the target.

City failed to trouble Raya in the second period until the 73rd minute. Rayan Cherki cut inside before blasting a shot from range, which Raya dealt with.

Saka missed a glorious chance to extend Arsenal’s lead, failing to hit the target from close range.

Immediately at the other end, Raya made another excellent stop, keeping out Antoine Semenyo’s right-footed shot.

Arsenal saw out the rest of the game comfortably to claim their first Community Shield since 2023.