Why Arsenal’s crushing win over Man City might actually work against them this season

Arsenal were far and away the better side in the Community Shield today as they dispatched Man City with ease.

From minute one when Riccardo Calafiori gave Arsenal the lead, the Gunners simply dominated their biggest rivals and showed just far ahead they currently are.

Mikel Arteta was, naturally, delighted with what he saw and if he can add another one or two players in the coming weeks, then his team really might be unbeatable in the title race.

However, there is a potential knock-on effect of beating City with such ease. And that is something the Gunners will be waiting to see pan out before the window shuts.

Man City might have just been sparked into gear thanks to Arsenal

It was almost too easy for Arsenal against City this time around. In the last few years, we’ve become accustomed to intense battles.

Today, though, Arsenal looked like champions while City looked like a team who were clinging on to even being top four contenders.

However, the problem now is that Man City know what they need to do. Enzo Maresca claimed after the game that he already knew what new additions were needed but this performance has surely sparked concerns at board level too.

The problem Arsenal now have is that City will simply spring into action and go and get the players needed. We’ve seen them do it before and they’ll be certain to do it again now.

In a few weeks’ time, we’re inevitably going to see a Man City side that looks completely different to what we saw today.

Quite whether that team can match Arsenal, will only be told over the season. But in hammering Maresca’s side like the Gunners did today, they’ve lit a fire at City that might be hard to put out.

For the neutral fan, this is good news. For Arsenal fans, it might only serve to make things even more tense as the season plays out.