Arsenal rating simply 24 seconds into Community Shield as star sends Arteta switch message

Arsenal opened the scoring in the Community Shield after just 24 seconds as Mikel Arteta’s side made an incredible start to the new season

Arsenal opened the scoring in the Community Shield against Manchester City after just 24 seconds in Cardiff.

Riccardo Calafiori stunned City and Enzo Maresca less than half a minute into his tenure as Cityzens boss, after replacing Pep Guardiola, when he wrong-footed Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The Italian left-back was played through on goal by a brilliant threaded pass by Myles Lewis-Skelly. Calafiori ran onto the pass off the shoulder of Abdukodir Khusanov, who had switched off in his right-back position.

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The weight of pass from Lewis-Skelly was exceptional with Calafiori able to slot the ball home without needing a touch to set himself.

Lewis-Skelly’s immediate impact sent a huge transfer message to Mikel Arteta amid speculation linking him with a move away from north London. The versatile 19-year-old has been linked with an exit as Arsenal consider cashing in on the homegrown star.

Having played in the youth team as a midfielder, Lewis-Skelly had to settle for a left-back role when he broke into the first team. Despite a promising debut campaign, the England international struggled in defence last season and was replaced by Calafiori.

But in his preferred midfield role alongside new £75million signing Bruno Guimaraes, with Declan Rice named among the substitutes, Lewis-Skelly is certainly proving his worth.

Kai Havertz later doubled Arsenal’s lead on 28 minutes when his header proved too difficult for Donnarumma to keep out after latching onto the end of debutant Christos Tzolis’ header across the face of goal.

Both sides are still working hard in the transfer window and the absence of some stars could potentially point to summer exits.

Ethan Nwaneri has been left out of the Arsenal squad as he looks to find an exit from the Emirates. Meanwhile Rodri and Savinho are both absent from Maresca’s squad as transfer speculation continues to swirl around the two.

The Community Shield is being staged in Cardiff for the first time in 20 years due to Wembley being unavailable because of a scheduling conflict with The Weeknd’s ‘After Hours til Dawn’ tour.

Due to the World Cup, the delayed top-flight schedule has resulted in the Principality Stadium being selected to host the showdown between the two clubs. However, Arsenal have been incredibly well supported in Wales and outnumber the City supporters in the city and inside the stadium.