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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was ‘extremely happy’ with his side after goals from Riccardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard secured an 18th FA Community Shield for the Gunners. The game started in electric fashion for Arsenal, with defender Calafiori netting past Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with just 23 seconds on the clock. “I am always extremely happy with the performance, the result and winning the first trophy,” said Arteta. “We talked about the desire that we have to start the season [with] and show ourselves how much we want it.” Calafiori’s opener broke the previous 35-second goal record held by former City man Bobby Owen, from the 1968 edition of the competition. The game also allowed the Gunners to showcase new signings Bruno Guimarães and Christos Tzolis, with the latter being the first Arsenal player since Willian to produce two or more assists on his debut. Speaking on the Greek winger, Arteta said: “I think he’s come in to the team really organically, he’s fitting and is a really intelligent boy. “He (Tzolis) has massive quality. When he’s in the last 20 or 30 metres, he’s so composed to beat people in and around the box.” The victory at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium marked a fifth FA Community Shield honour for the Spanish boss, with two wins as an Arsenal player and three as manager. The early goal sparked confidence into the 2025-26 Premier League champions, as Havertz headed in a second goal just before the half-hour mark. It was captain Martin Ødegaard who added a third goal, cleverly finishing into an empty net after wrong-footing Donnarumma. And after netting three goals in 45 appearances since signing from Bologna in 2024, Arteta hopes that Calafiori’s early strike will give the left-back some belief heading into the forthcoming campaign. “I think he can be a total player,” added Arteta. “We can ask him to occupy certain areas of the pitch and when he gets in and around the box, he has this intuition and timing to create and score goals. “We ask him because he’s capable of doing it and knows how to do it, which will maintain his fitness and availability with that physical condition.” The victory over their top flight rivals marked a first Community Shield victory for Arsenal since 2023’s 4-1 penalty shootout victory over the Cityzens, following a 1-1 draw in regular time.