Class Against Coventry

Arsenal kick started the Premier League season with a home fixture against the newly promoted Coventry City. All eyes were on the Gunners to make a statement, to show their competitors that last season wasn't a fluke. The opposition was favourable, but no one can be taken for granted in this division. Let's see how the Gunners got on.

First Half

Coventry came out the blocks pretty quickly and earned a corner early on. It didn't come to anything, but the intent was there. However, it was Arsenal who would have the first opportunity. Christos Tzolis found himself a yard of space and arrowed a shot just over the bar. He was then involved in the next chance, just a few minutes later, when his cross found Bukayo Saka. The English winger controlled the ball well, but a Coventry defender was quickly across to thwart the danger. It would take Arsenal 15 minutes to open their account for the season. Tzolis battled to win possession back high up the pitch, Riccardo Calafiori was on hand to pick up the scraps from that duel. The Italian then picked out Kai Havertz in the box who swept home the opener. Just under 10 minutes later, the North London side had their second. Declan Rice surged through the midfield, exchanging a pass with Odegaard before spraying it out wide to Tzolis. The new signing flashed the ball across goal, but the Coventry keeper parried it into Saka's path. Saka had an open net to make it two. Arsenal retained control and found another opening when Odegaard teed up Ben White, his shot was blocked. The home side would engineer some more half chances, but Coventry almost halved the deficit with a spectacular effort. Loum Tchoauna produced an acrobatic volley that had David Raya concerned. In the end it landed on top of the net, but it was close. The Gunners had one more chance before half time as Rice curled one narrowly wide of the post from the edge of the box.

Second Half

Arsenal came out in the second half determined to kill the game off as early as possible. Four minutes later, they did just that. Another well worked opening saw Odegaard scuff a shot from just outside the six yard box. The Coventry keeper had already committed to a better struck shot and was left flailing to keep out the effort. He couldn't and Arsenal were 3-0 up. Despite the advantage, Arsenal went looking for more. Tzolis was determined to get the goal his performance deserved, but another crucial block denied him of that. He had another effort that fizzed through a crowd of players, but Carl Rushworth got down quickly to deny what would've been a brilliant goal. After the Tzolis chances, the substitutions came and the match fizzled out. Coventry did find a chance to pull a goal back, but Jack Rudoni's header was weak and straight at Raya. Outside of Mikel Merino's strike from range, the Gunners wouldn't have another significant opportunity.

Statistics

Arsenal were the deserved victors here and they didn't really get out of second gear. The Gunners managed 20 shots with 6 finding the target. This generated 1.88 xG with 1 big chance created. Coventry were limited to just 4 shots with just 1 finding the target. This generated 0.20 xG with 1 big chance created.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Raya - 7 - He had one save to make, so this isn't about his performance as a keeper. What I will judge him on is how he essentially becomes an eleventh player, a fifth defender if you will. He's on hand to receive a pass under pressure and execute a pass onwards. The amount of times he can split a press in half, with a line breaking pass, is exceptional.

White - 8 - This was a vintage White performance. He bombed up and down the wing relentlessly. He was always available and it created an overflow in attack. It's how we achieved our third goal.

Mosquera - 7 - Clean sheet and kept Coventry quiet, can't ask for much more. However, he did have a couple of iffy moments that threatened to ruin the clean sheet.

Gabriel - 7 - Same with Mosquera, didn't allow Coventry much in attack. However, he was beaten by Ellis Simms and was forced into a yellow card offence to stop him.

Calafiori - 8 - Him and Tzolis are developing a telepathic connection that will be crucial going forward. His under lapping runs have been quite important so far. It was his assist that generated the first goal, which came about from Tzolis' hard work.

Rice - 8 - He's still blowing off the cobwebs, but he can still churn out a magnificent performance. He's just so good at providing a line of defence in front of our actual defence. It was his bursting run forward that created the second goal. I'm happy he was able to come off early, some extra rest.

Lewis-Skelly - 9 - Wow. He was incredible. Such a forward thinking player. He was always available for his team mates and always got his head up. He knows when to keep it simple and when to try the difficult things. He's got a massive season coming up and I'm excited to see him finally progress.

Odegaard - 9 - A captain's performance once again. Following on from the good work against Manchester City. He scored our third, but he just kept the attack ticking over. He was constantly probing and Coventry didn't really have an answer.

Tzolis - 9.5 (MOTM) - About as good of a performance as you can get without getting a goal or an assist. He was very lively and constantly looked to create something. He's not doing anything extraordinary, he's maximising the basics. It's quite shocking how many players overcomplicate matters, when you can be just as deadly from doing the basics perfectly. He deserved a goal at the very least, but he had a hand in two of the goals. Not quite assists, but he was part of the process.

Havertz - 8 - A really well taken goal to continue his final goalscoring record of late. He was just a threat all game and was much more tidier than he normally is.

Saka - 8 - It was an easy goal, but you have to be positioned correctly for it. He was always looking for ways to get himself or the ball into the box, again Coventry didn't really have an answer for it.

Subs

Madueke - 4 - I wasn't impressed by him at all. He did okay, but a lot of our attacks kind of died when the ball reached him. He has a tendency to complain when things don't go his way, often blaming others.

Zubimendi - 7 - If he is kept fresh this season then he's going to be so good. People often forget how good he was in the first part of last season, before his burnout. He arrived in this match when Arsenal had taken their foot of the gas, but he ensured that didn't turn into a flurry of chances for the away side.

Eze - 4 - Couldn't really find his feet in this one. His first touch was heavy and he couldn't really get involved all that much. It's no surprise our attack diminished when Eze came on.

Merino - 6 - Tidy. Didn't need to do a whole lot, but certainly took the sting out a few Coventry attacks. He sometimes moves a bit slowly, but he has excellent ball retention qualities. His last minute shot on target was proof that he's going to be dangerous this season.

Hincapie - 5 - He had very little to do, but you could tell he doesn't bring the same offensive qualities as Calafiori. That's okay, there's games where we'll need his defensive prowess, but this wasn't one of them.

Final Thoughts

Arsenal pretty much controlled that game from start to finish. They never let Coventry get a foothold and that's something that will be important for us going forward. Towards the back end of last season we ended up inviting pressure onto ourselves far too often. But, if we can keep our midfield fresh, then I think we'll dominate most games. I do think we still need a level raising attacker. Someone that can play anywhere across the front line. I don't know who at this stage, but we need someone to add that extra bit of fear in our frontline. Everywhere else is covered with the Ezri Konsa signing. Onto the next one.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal Predicted Lineup

Villa are in a bit of disarray at the moment. Their team has been stripped down, without much in the way of replacements. In addition to this, they've lost Amadou Onana to injury and they'll also be without Joao Gomes, due to suspension. This is the ideal time to face Villa because if they do make any new signings before Monday, they won't have much time to integrate. We often struggle away to Villa, so if we remain composed then we'll be fine. I'd select Mosquera again for this as he was good against Coventry and I'm not sure we should throw Konsa in against his former club, straight away anyway. I also think Villa will target Odegaard and almost bully him out of the game. If Bruno Guimaraes is fit then that midfield I've selected should allow us to physically overwhelm them. Odegaard can be a second half substitute to finish them off. Outside of that, I don't think there should be any other changes. Let's get it!