Arsenal opened the defence of their Premier League title with a routine 3-0 win over Coventry City at the Emirates Stadium, goals from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard settling the contest inside the opening hour.
Havertz broke the deadlock in the 14th minute, converting after Christos Tzolis and Riccardo Calafiori combined down the left to dispossess Milan van Ewijk, Calafiori's pass finished first time. Saka doubled the lead in the 22nd: Declan Rice's drive released Tzolis, whose cross was only parried by goalkeeper Carl Rushworth into Saka's path. Ødegaard made it three in the 48th minute, a miscued finish squirming over the line after a Ben White pass found him.
New signage above the Emirates entrance reads simply "Champions", and Ødegaard said the mentality this season is to attack the title rather than defend it. "We don't feel we have to defend anything," he said. "We want to do it again and that's the mindset." Mikel Arteta, who is trying to turn the Emirates into a fortress after last season's criticism of a nervy crowd, said the two early goals were "a good platform for everybody to feel this way".
Havertz has now scored in four consecutive competitive appearances (Burnley and Paris Saint-Germain last season, Manchester City in last week's Community Shield win, and now Coventry), the first time he has managed that in his career in England. Tzolis, Arsenal's only debutant, started with Bruno Guimarães missing through the groin injury he picked up in that Community Shield win, and impressed throughout. Ødegaard said of him: "He's a really intelligent player. He always looks up and finds the right pass."