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Mikel Arteta admitted he was both delighted and pleasantly surprised by the level of Arsenal’s performance after the Premier League champions brushed aside Manchester City 3-0 to lift the Community Shield and lay down an early marker for the season ahead. The Gunners were ahead after just 24 seconds, Riccardo Calafiori calmly slotting home after being picked out by a superb through ball from Myles Lewis-Skelly. Kai Havertz, preferred to Viktor Gyokeres up front, doubled the advantage with a well-taken header following excellent work from Christos Tzolis. The Greek winger then claimed his second assist of the afternoon after the break, teeing up Martin Odegaard, who showed neat footwork before walking the ball into the net. Unsurprisingly, Arteta was all smiles when he sat down with TNT Sports after the final whistle. On what he liked most about the win… Areally, really good performance. It’s so early in the season to play at the level that we’ve done it and to show the desire that we showed in every action, I was really impressed. I said to them I really enjoyed watching them play. On what’s impressed him most about Christos Tzolis… I think how naturally he’s accommodated in the squad, in the team and his level of understanding. He’s a player that makes decisions where a lot of people rush and make wrong decisions. He’s very, very smart, very accurate. And again today, in tight spaces, he made the right decision twice and he set up two goals. On the strength of Arsenal’s midfield… Very strong. I think we’ve been adding year after year, quality, different combinations. And now we have especially a lot of leadership, players with different qualities, but they can play together and be very strong. On the importance of performing so well… I’m a bit surprised. Obviously our pre-season, we had three different groups; eight or nine players arrived four days ago just to get tested. They trained two days, so to be able to play in the manner that we did is extremely impressive. It tells you how much those players want it, the level of desire that we have and the quality that we have for sure. On maintaining the level after last season’s Premier League success… By pushing each other every single day and with the squad that we have, with ambition that we have at the club, that’s going to maintain the fire, elevate the level and the demands daily. If we do that, I’m sure we will be very, very competitive. On Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus not making the matchday squad… It’s really sad not to have the availability and I’ve been fighting with the Premier League to extend and to accommodate more players in the squad because it’s always tough because they deserve to be in the squad, there’s no question. Ethan [Nwaneri] as well, Marli [Salmon] as well, as they’ve been with us the whole pre-season. On whether the Brazilians remain in his plans for the season ahead… Yes, they are all very important for us.