Manchester City were handsomely beaten 3-0 by Arsenal in the FA Community Shield on Sunday. The performance of Enzo Maresca’s side was well below the standards expected of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup holders. There were clear areas of concern to emerge from Manchester City’s performance at the Principality Stadium. There is no doubt about that. However, Enzo Maresca’s full squad had only been together for four days so blowing out the cobwebs so to speak was a necessary step that this team needed to take. However, it must be said that this fact doesn’t excuse the manner of City’s defeat to Mikel Arteta’s side.
A host of Manchester City needed to get minutes into their legs against Arsenal which is part of the bigger picture.
When the starting lineups were announced ahead of the FA Community Shield, Enzo Maresca had seemingly picked his strongest available starting eleven. In that starting lineup were four players who had trained under Enzo Maresca for four days prior to the match against Arsenal. They were Erling Haaland, Nico O’Reilly, Elliot Anderson and Jeremy Doku. In the case of Elliot Anderson, the FA Community Shield was his first opportunity to play with his new teammates.
All four of those players needed to get minutes into their legs ahead of City’s Premier League opening fixture against Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Haaland looked rusty, ditto for Jeremy Doku. Nico O’Reilly wasn’t anywhere near his best and Elliot Anderson looked like a player playing with his teammates for the first time. However, Anderson showed flashes of what he will bring to Enzo Maresca’s side.
Enzo Maresca explained after his team’s defeat at in Cardiff why he started Haaland, Doku, Anderson and O’Reilly. It was a move designed to build up their fitness ahead of the match against Bournemouth. Maresca explained: “We decide to start with four with just two or three sessions. The reason why was also because sometimes players prefer to start doing the proper warm up and start from the beginning.”
“The plan was to change all of them after 45 minutes or one hour maximum so it’s a decision that you take before the game.“
There were valid concerns to emerge from Manchester City’s defeat to Arsenal.
While the Manchester City squad needed to blow off the figurative cobwebs against Arsenal, there were valid concerns to emerge for City’s defeat. How Arsenal played through City’s midfield and defence after 25 seconds to open the scoring through Riccardo Calafiori was one. The simple way that City’s defence was picked apart for Arsenal’s second and third goals was another. Enzo Maresca’s side’s high press was a non-factor. A non-factor is likely the way to describe City’s overall performance in Cardiff.
Perhaps those concerns will continue to fester during the opening stages of the 2026-27 season. Enzo Maresca’s side does need time to gel and come together. Perhaps getting the FA Community Shield out of the way was a necessary step for this Manchester City side. Enzo Maresca admitted he has concerns coming out of Sunday’s match, but he did add that the game against Arsenal is one of the first steps that his team has taken together. Maresca said: “In general I’m always concerned, even when we win games so imagine how that we didn’t win the game.”
“It’s just the beginning, we have many things that we need to do better, I think the reaction was good after conceding the first goal and now try to reset and analyse the game and think from Tuesday about the next game.”
Final thoughts.
Enzo Maresca’s side was poor against Arsenal. There is no disputing that fact. However, the match was only the FA Community Shield so it can be excused to a degree. There are legitimate concerns to arise from City’s display. But the fact is that the Manchester City squad needed to blow off the cobwebs. They have gotten that out of the way and hopefully it can help Enzo Maresca’s side start their 2026-27 Premier League campaign strongly against Bournemouth.