On Sunday afternoon, Arsenal swept Manchester City aside with a 3-0 victory during their FA Community Shield clash in Cardiff to make a strong early statement ahead of the new season.
Their intention, clearly, is to successfully retain their Premier League title and challenge for honours across all competitions, including the UEFA Champions League, having missed out on the Champions League after losing to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties in last season's final.
Against City, they adopted a more aggressive and progressive style, consistently looking to move the ball forward causing Enzo Maresca's side significant problems throughout the match. The 2.19 XG they registered at the end was an indication of their utter dominance.
The last time Arsenal were arguably this vertical was in the second half of the 2023-2024 season. In the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 seasons, Arsenal appeared more pragmatic, with their attacking play often lacking the same fluency in open play. Instead, they became renowned for their tendency to be efficient at scoring from set pieces.
But given Myles Lewis-Skelly and summer signing Bruno Guimares were at the heart of the dominance in Cardiff, with Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice, the first-choice midfield pairing for much of last season coming in as substitutes later in the game, could we see the former two entrusted to start together more often?
Will it result in a more exciting Arsenal team to watch?
Read More: Arsenal 3-0 Man City: 5 Things We Learned From the Community Shield
How Lewis-Skelly Helped Arsenal Break Through Manchester City
It all came from how aggressive Arsenal were from kick-off.
Rather than playing backwards before looking for a long diagonal, Arsenal immediately looked to break through the lines. Gabriel found Martin Odegaard, who played around the corner to Riccardo Calafiori who created a sequence of events that led to Christos Tzolis receiving the ball.
Tzolis then switched the ball from the left flank to the right, where Noni Madueke headed the ball back inside to Ben White.
Ben White's pass into Lewis-Skelly was slightly underhit, but the 19-year-old let the ball run through his body to escape pressure and played a brilliant disguised pass through to Calafiori.
The Italian was allowed to roam high up all game, and his darting run inside Abdukodir Khusanov caught the Uzbek defender off guard. As he edged out wide to guard against the ball to Tzolis, Lewis-Skelly reversed the pass inside to cut open the defence, opening the scoring just 24 seconds into the match.
How Lewis-Skelly, Guimaraes and Odegaard Changed Arsenal’s Midfield
The understanding between Guimaraes, Odegaard and Lewis-Skelly allowed the Brazilian to settle seamlessly into Arsenal's midfield.
The 28-year-old calmly dealt with defensive situations in both central and wide areas, was strong with his passing in build-up play, and courageous when looking to move Arsenal up the pitch.
Rather than Arsenal’s midfield being set into specific areas of the pitch like in previous seasons, the trio offered Arsenal a better balance, who rotated nicely depending on the moment.
Lewis-Skelly sat deepest at the base of the engine room, while Guimaraes and Odegaard operated as staggered interiors ahead of him.
As the match wore on, Lewis-Skelly frequently dropped between Gabriel and Mosquera's cover, forming a temporary back three that allowed full-backs to push higher.
By alternating between inverting one or two full-backs around Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal generated consistent numerical overloads through the center of the pitch.
Because City's press was often disjointed rather than operating as a cohesive block, Lewis-Skelly and Guimaraes routinely bypassed City's midfield, feeding Odegaard and Calafiori in dangerous half-spaces.
That balance allowed Lewis-Skelly to find room to thread that impressive pass through for Calafiori’s opener, while also being the quickest to react when David Raya parried a shot into the six-yard box later in the first half.
Having the 19-year-old in the midfield while Calafiori is at left-back adds another dimension that Arsenal did not have last year, pairing buccaneering forward runs with exemplary vision.
Lewis-Skelly's passing is an important weapon in his game aside from his ball carrying as well as the ability to shield it well. It is an element that Rice and Zubimendi do not offer as frequently.
Read More: Could Christos Tzolis Be the Answer to Arsenal’s Left-Wing Problems After Missing Out on Vini Jr?
Should Lewis-Skelly Start Ahead of Rice or Zubimendi?
Onlookers may be encouraged that the return of Declan Rice, who replaced Guimaraes for the second half, did not signal Arsenal seeing out their lead as it was. Zubimendi was also able to get 15 minutes under his belt.
They were still intent on taking the game to City, and Odegaard showed exceptional poise and confidence to sit down Gianluigi Donnarumma before making it 3-0.
The Arsenal captain was sharp throughout Norway’s World Cup campaign, brought that into his pre-season performances, and carried on in that vein throughout this victory.
Given Odegaard looked dominant with a midfield pivot that allowed him to occupy attacking areas rather than have to drop deep in hunt for the ball to progress it when it is Zubimendi and Rice starting together, should he play Guimares and Lewis-Skelly more often together?
Lewis-Skelly recently made it clear that he intends to stay at Arsenal despite reported interest from elsewhere. With competition from Guimaraes, Rice and Zubimendi, however, his challenge will be turning performances like this into a regular starting role.
