FA Premier League
ARSENAL 3 (Havertz 15, Saka 23, Ødegaard 49)
COVENTRY CITY 0

It would be tempting, in the frantic on-the-whistle dash to publish, to claim the champions had simply resumed where they left off. We all know that wasn’t the case.

This, after all, was not the gritted-teeth Arsenal of late May. On the opening night of their attempt to retain the title for the first time since the 1930s, the football was loose, fluid and cheerful. The sort of performance that arrives once a twenty-two-year hoodoo has been buried and the soil patted down by a million parading fans.

The random ‘fixture list computer’, should you believe in such things, helped of course. Newly promoted Coventry at home on day one is classic Sky Sports territory, but the gap has widened since Micky Quinn’s hat-trick on the first weekend of 1993/94, still the last time anyone managed that particular feat away at Arsenal. You can only beat what is put in front of you,  as the old adage goes, and Mikel Arteta was beaming at his players’ laser focus.

The squad is now so deep that a side assembled from the unused, the injured and those still waiting for a home debut to be scheduled would still look capable of causing proper trouble. It is getting faintly absurd, heightened by the fact that ew of those on the fringes seem keen to leave. Why would they, just as the project goes bang and the pay remains good.

There is still the lingering sense that the final piece — the properly ruthless centre-forward — remains missing. Viktor Gyökeres tried hard enough last season, but the question has not quite gone away. But Arteta will not be asked that classic old question as to whether he knows his best eleven. Rotation is now part of the agreement for many as they sign for the club and as the manager tries to contest every available trophy. The Community Shield is already secured. The Carabao Cup will not be ignored. The Champions League must occupy a lot of his thoughts. And then there is the small matter of retaining the Premier League — something even Arsène Wenger, for all his years and success, never quite managed.

Are we getting ahead of ourselves? Almost certainly. There will be injuries, bad nights and the usual renewed rivalries. Arsenal are the team everyone else will measure themselves against and want to beat, a fact which must penetrate those supporters of other clubs who spent the heatwave summer unable to walk through London without encountering someone in a red-and-white shirt.

Still, the useful evidence from this evening is that the hunger has not dimmed in any way. Game time may be about to become scarce and carefully rationed for more of the players, yet the collective appetite looks intact and a friendly contest for places.

Myles Lewis-Skelly continued his progress in midfield after missing out on England’s World Cup squad. Martin Ødegaard, by contrast, looked like his old self after a decent tournament with Norway:fizzing the passes, authority on the ball, and another goal to go with the impudent finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma in Cardiff eight days ago. He was not alone in enjoying the evening. New signing Christos Tzolis, restless and inventive on the left, produced the kind of display that might give Gabriel Martinelli pause for thought about which departure he will or won’t accept. The Brazilian remains frozen out for now; those key misses from last season have not, it seems, been forgotten.

Tzolis’s persistence created the first goal, chasing a long ball, winning it, and setting the move going. Ødegaard was involved, then Kai Havertz arrived to finish with confidence. Tzolis himself had a couple of efforts that drifted wide. Declan Rice meanwhile produced a performance that, with any luck, will temporarily quiet the fatigue narrative that has followed him since his endless season for club and country.

The second came when Tzolis crossed and Coventry goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, a little nervous all night, could only help the ball into Bukayo Saka’s path. Saka does not miss those. The third was Ødegaard’s, albeit a slightly awkward finish after Ben White, fit and animated, reached the byline and found him with a cut back pass. There was the clear sense that more goals were available if required, but two consecutive 3-0s already feel like a strong enough message for now.

“There was a lot to like,” Arteta said afterwards. “Obviously it was a great result, but the manner we started the game, the domination, clarity, understanding and growth in the game was really impressive. It was great because the start is always tricky; we played a team that had a long time to prepare as well, and they are really good at what they do. But again, I was really impressed with the result today.”

Asked about the new energy and release from the crowd, he added: “Let’s see when it’s 0-0 or we’re maybe losing a game. Today, the start of the game and the two goals gave us a platform to make us feel this way, but I think we’ve learnt from the past as well what really helps the team – and this atmosphere in the stadium is a joy to witness and to play football in.”

ARSENAL: Raya, White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori (Hincapié 81), Lewis-Skelly, Rice (Zubimendi 68), Saka (Madueke 68), Odegaard (Merino 76), Tzolis (Eze 76), Havertz
Subs not used: Arrizabalaga, Gyökeres, Nwaneri, Dowman
COVENTRY CITY: Rushworth, van Ewijk, Thomas, Amenda, Dasilva, Grimes, Tchaouna (Hamer 82), Yirenkyi (Overgaard 62), Onyeka, Thomas-Asante (Rudoni 70), Simms (Awoniyi 70)
Subs not used: Wilson, Sakamoto, Kitching, Latibeaudiere, Eccles