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What a difference a title makes. The last time Arsenal played in front of their own supporters, you could cut the nervous tension with a knife as Mikel Arteta’s side scraped to a 1-0 victory over already relegated Burnley. Ninety-five days on and, Arsenal having ended their long wait to be crowned champions the following night when Manchester City slipped up against Bournemouth, Coventry were given a rude awakening in their first Premier League game for 25 years.
It is now 46 matches since Arsenal lost at home to a promoted side and there was never any doubt about the result as soon as Kai Havertz – who scored the only goal against Burnley that turned out to be priceless – picked up where he left off by giving Arsenal the lead in the 15th minute. A tap-in from Bukayo Saka and then Martin Ødegaard, the captain, matching his Premier League tally from last season just after half-time made it almost the perfect start for the champions.
Arteta had warned beforehand that his players are hungry for more silverware this season and as well as assembling one of the deepest squads, they now have the vital experience of having actually done it. It was telling that with 15 minutes still to play and his side cruising towards victory, the Arsenal manager had the luxury of replacing the outstanding Ødegaard and Declan Rice with two World Cup winners in the form of Mikel Merino and Martín Zubimendi.
It could have been much worse for Coventry had Arsenal not taken their foot off the accelerator by then. But Frank Lampard will know that their chances of survival will not rest on this result and next week’s homecoming against Hull should provide more of a guide to their prospects.
In another show of their considerable strength these days, Arsenal had paraded the new signing Ezri Konsa before kick-off after the England defender completed his move from Aston Villa for an initial £51m. But they were without Bruno Guimarães after the £75m midfielder picked up an injury in last Sunday’s convincing Community Shield victory over Manchester City. That meant Declan Rice started in the engine room alongside Myles Lewis-Skelly, while Saka also returned despite them both only resuming training last week.
Coventry’s lineup contained five new signings including the Ghana midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi. They were attempting to avoid a repeat of their only two previous visits to this stadium, in which they conceded 10 goals – four in the FA Cup and six in the League Cup – when they were still in the third tier.
But while not many of the supporters who made the journey to north London will remember Micky Quinn’s hat-trick in Coventry’s win on the opening day of the 1993-94 season at the old Highbury, Lampard had urged his players to show belief that they belong at this level. Sadly for him, Arsenal were in no mood for sentimentality.
Christos Tzolis was not the most eye-catching arrival of the summer but the Greece forward was a lively presence from the start and could have given them the lead twice in the first 10 minutes before Havertz eventually did.
Tzolis and Riccardo Calafiori teamed up on the left flank to dispossess Milan van Ewijk and the Italian rolled a pass perfectly on to the onrushing Havertz to finish.
Before Coventry knew what hit them they were two behind. A flowing move started by Rice involving a clever one-two with Ødegaard led Carl Rushworth to play a cross from Tzolis straight to the grateful Saka.
Yirenkyi went into the book for hauling down Lewis-Skelly as Coventry struggled to keep their heads above water. It was no surprise that Lampard looked so concerned as he watched on with his arms folded firmly across his chest. Only four of his squad have previous Premier League experience that amounts to little more than 200 games in total. They will need to learn quickly.
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At least Coventry could say that they caused Arsenal’s much-vaunted defence the occasional problem in the first half.
The giant Ellis Simms surprisingly got the better of Gabriel Magalhães in one physical duel before Loum Tchaouna almost caught David Raya napping with a speculative lob. But Yirenkyi was perhaps fortunate not to be shown a second yellow card after catching Tzolis with a late challenge on the verge of half-time.
Coventry’s luck did not last long. A scuffed finish from Ødegaard after he was set up by Ben White dribbled over the line only four minutes after the restart and extinguished any hopes of mounting a comeback. Rushworth’s face said it all as the ball trickled over the line.
From then on it was damage limitation. The keeper was at full stretch to tip over a powerful drive from Lewis-Skelly before Ødegaard saw a goal-bound effort deflected wide. But the departures of Rice and Saka with little more than 20 minutes to play were an indication that Arteta was satisfied with the scoreline.
The substitute Jack Rudoni came closest to grabbing a consolation for the visitors in the dying minutes but Coventry will certainly stand more of a chance of proving themselves as the season progresses.
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