5 Things we learned from Arsenal’s opening day win over Coventry
What a statement of intent from the champions. It was imperative for Arsenal to get off to a good start today at home to Coventry and with the weight of the world lifted off their shoulders they played some magical football tonight, it didn’t take them long to open the scoring just 15 minutes as Van-Ewijk was caught on the ball by Tzolis who nipped the ball to Calafiori who then played a brilliant pass towards the box where Havertz was waiting to roll the ball past Rushworth to give Arsenal the lead. It took Arsenal just eight more minutes to double the lead as Tzolis fired the ball across the box with Rushworth getting a hand to it but only palming the ball into Saka’s path who had an easy tap-in to put Arsenal 2-0 up, as the second half started Arsenal quickly secured the game scoring a third goal with Ben White playing the ball back to Martin Odegaard who’s scuffed finish was too much for Rushworth to handle as Arsenal made it 3-0 in the 49th minute. From there Arteta’s team could relax and pretty easily saw out the result to make it a perfect opening day for the Gunners.
Is there anyone that’s going to take 1st place from Arsenal this season? After a performance like that it’s hard to imagine any team that’s going to be able to compete with the Gunners this season, there were times last season when they were slogging through games winning by scoring a set-piece and shutting up shop but this was anything but. They were spraying the ball about for fun and played some really good stuff throughout the 90 minutes, there’s been a lot of speculation regarding Myles Lewis-Skelly this summer but he’s put that to one side in these last two weeks and been in my opinion Arsenal’s best player against City and now Coventry. His willingness to always progress the ball forward allows the likes of Odegaard and Saka to have more space to attack and we saw that multiple times today, I also really liked Christos Tzolis’ performance today on the left-wing going directly at his full-back whenever he got the chance and was part of everything good that Arsenal did today. Even without the likes of William Saliba and Bruno Guimaraes Arsenal were never really in any trouble today and that proves just how strong their squad is again this season, a statement has been sent to the league. Come take 1st place off us.
Welcome to the Premier League Coventry City. This was a rude awakening to the league for Coventry City and Frank Lampard but the one positive is that they have the hardest game in the league out of the way already, what will really annoy Lampard though is the actual goals themselves. The first goal is so preventable if Van-Ewijk just clears the ball but he gets caught and almost instantly Coventry get caught and concede the opener, from there it was always going to be an uphill battle but even the second goal is poor goalkeeping from Rushworth as well as the defenders falling asleep in the box when the ball is coming in. The third goal as well is mis-hit from Odegaard and in my opinion I think Rushworth should save it but maybe I’m being harsh, Coventry didn’t really pose any threat throughout the 90 minutes but it’s hard to judge them up against arguably the best defence in the world at the minute. It’s all about Hull City next week for Coventry and Lampard in a game which both will be eager to take the three points in.
Is this the season it clicks again for Martin Odegaard? Over the last two seasons there has been a lot of questions surrounding the Arsenal captain and his long-term future at the club but over the last six months or so we’ve seen a real uptick in his performances including a solid World Cup campaign but these first two games against City and Coventry have me thinking we might just see the best version of Odegaard yet this season, he was absolutely unplayable last week in the Community Shield and again tonight he showed such elegance on the ball that makes you wonder where he’s been for the last two seasons. It might be an unpopular opinion but I think we saw Arsenal’s best midfield tonight, Rice-Odegaard-Lewis-Skelly has the best balance in this Arsenal team and I know Bruno Guimaraes is a top player but it’s between him and Declan Rice for me, Odegaard and Lewis-Skelly are certified starters for me this season when Arsenal are playing their best 11. I’m looking forward to seeing Martin Odegaard back to his best this season for Arsenal.
Any business to attend to before the end of the window? For Arsenal although they’ve looked imperious over these last two weeks I can’t help but wonder just how much better this team would be with a top attacker whether that’s down the middle or on the left-wing, just imagine what a Vinicius Junior or Julian Alvarez could add to this team. The prospect of a top attacker joining before the window has to be extremely exciting for Arsenal fans but I do wonder who it will be, I don’t see Alvarez joining as he dreams of Barcelona but you could look at Bradley Barcola before he probably joins Liverpool. He would seriously add levels on that left-wing despite how good Tzolis has been so far, for striker I can only think of Victor Osimhen but it would take an astronomical fee to get him out of Turkey along with his huge wages that come with it. It would make a huge difference though compared to Gyokeres, I’d even be tempted by Rafael Leao at AC Milan given how low the fee would probably be at this point of the window. For Coventry I think they are crying out for some attacking threat in the squad, Ellis Simms was very isolated tonight up front but I don’t think he’s the level of a striker that can keep you in the league. Is there anyone that can come in and light up Coventry’s attack? I really don’t know.