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Arsenal prowess shows they’re not lacking attacking threat, but defensive cover still needed

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Arsenal could hardly have asked for a more convincing start. They arrived at the Principality Stadium as Premier League champions, dispatched Manchester City 3-0 and played with the authority their new status demands.

For Mikel Arteta, that is unlikely to be enough. Winning the title has answered the question that haunted Arsenal for the previous three seasons, but posed another: How do you improve a team that is already winning?

It is a challenge Arteta will relish. He is determined to exploit every margin, and leave no stone unturned in his search for improvement. Some of that can be done on the training pitch — the sweeping changes in Arsenal’s performance and medical departments speak to the manager’s rapacious hunger for progress.

There are other ways to improve. Shortly before kick-off, Arteta spoke to TNT Sports about his expectations for the coming season.

“We recognise the big margins that we have to be much better as a team, and much better individually. And then that has to be supported by the ambition of the club, which is there. Unquestionable.”

The final part of his answer appears to allude towards the transfer market. This performance — albeit against an underwhelming City — was a reminder of the strength of Arsenal’s existing squad. Despite the failure to land marquee signings such as Vinicius Junior or Morgan Rogers, Arsenal have an impressive array of depth, experience and quality.

Two summer signings made an immediate impression in Cardiff. Bruno Guimaraes slotted seamlessly into the Arsenal midfield, playing 45 combative minutes before making way for Declan Rice — illustrative of the embarrassment of midfield riches at Arteta’s disposal. Christos Tzolis, the Greek international signed from Club Brugge, created goals for Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard.

Martin Odegaard was particularly impressive (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

But there is still work to do before September 1’s transfer deadline.

The substitutes’ bench told that story, both in terms of outgoings and incomings. For all the talk of Arsenal needing a new forward, in terms of pure numbers they are well-stocked for attacking players — Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson all failed to make the team sheet.

In his post-match press conference, Arteta insisted the omissions were solely due to “technical decisions” — but Arsenal are considering offers for all of those players ahead of the transfer deadline.

Nwaneri and Martinelli were with the squad in Cardiff. As Arsenal celebrated at full time, centre-back Gabriel encouraged his compatriot to join him for photos with the trophy. Martinelli declined. His omission from the squad does not augur well for his Arsenal future.

If Arteta has a surfeit of attacking options, it’s a different situation at the back. With William Saliba and Jurrien Timber sidelined, Arsenal had just one defender (Piero Hincapie) among the nine substitutes.

“We know that there are certain areas that, through injuries, we are weaker and we need to strengthen,” said Arteta. “We are trying to do that; we’ve been trying to do that for weeks. If there is the right opportunity and the club is able to do it, we will do it.”

Arsenal’s primary defensive target has been Ezri Konsa, but Aston Villa are holding firm on their £60million valuation. That has led Arsenal to consider other options, such as Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah.

With the start of the Premier League now just days away, a defensive signing may be considered the more pressing priority.

Arsenal hold an interest in Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa (Getty Images)

Arteta will be encouraged that Arsenal’s attack looked enlivened by the performances of Havertz and especially Odegaard, who capped an outstanding performance with an audacious goal. The Arsenal captain received a pass from Tzolis and dummied not once but twice before slotting past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Arsenal would still benefit from an attacking addition. Their issue is clearly not one of quantity, but quality — an elite forward would undoubtedly elevate their game.

Landing a player like Vinicius Jr might have transformed Arsenal’s attacking threat. But Arteta will be equally eager to preserve the defensive foundations that took them to the title. Arteta wants to raise the ceiling but secure the floor. Every summer, Arteta impresses upon the club the need to maximise their window for improvement. The club have little more than two weeks to deliver.

Arsenal attack the final part of the window from a position of strength. They have continuity, consistency, and — after this resounding victory — confidence.

Many are content to dismiss the Community Shield as a friendly — and City’s startling lack of intensity suggested they regarded it as such. Arteta, however, has repeatedly referred to this fixture as “a final”. He believes winning is a habit — one he is keen to see become ingrained at Arsenal.

As Enzo Maresca gave his post-match press conference, the sound of DJ Khaled’s All I Do Is Win could be heard blaring from the Arsenal dressing room. It seems the team are ready to embrace their new ideology of dominance.

“We know what we are,” sang the Arsenal fans. In a Premier League where so many of their rivals are coming to grips with a new identity, that could be Arsenal’s biggest advantage.

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BBC Sport quiz: Who am I? Guess Premier League footballer No 28

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Welcome to our Who am I? game.

The rules are simple. Each day there’s a new footballer and the challenge is to guess who they are in as few attempts as possible.

After each wrong guess you unlock a new clue. The fewer clues you need to get the right answer, the more points you score.

Three is a good score, four or five points is exceptional.

So take part and return for more tomorrow.

Today’s player and clues set by BBC Sport’s Flora Snelson.

After more quizzes? Go to our dedicated Football Quizzes and Sports Quizzes pages and sign up for notifications to get the latest quizzes sent straight to your device.

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Premier League: Remembering the audacious attempt to turn Wimbledon into the Dublin Dons

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“The concept was really, really strong,” said Higgins, now chairman of League of Ireland side Sligo Rovers.

“Jack Charlton’s Irish team was in his heyday, and coming off Italia ’90 and USA ’94, you’d have had a mini-international side playing in Dublin every other week.

“I believe it would have transformed soccer on the island, but they [the FAI] were looking down too narrow a pipe.

“And look at what’s happened since – rugby and the GAA have eaten our lunch and they get the money for TV and sponsorship.

“Soccer just didn’t have the vision to do something transformative.”

In the end, it was a moot point. After 18 months of talks, the line to Hammam went dead. Calls went unanswered, correspondence unreturned.

Higgins, who still has the unsigned contract among his files, was walking through an airport the next year when he looked up at a television screen to see news that Hammam had sold 80% of the club to Bjorn Rune Gjelsten and Kjell Inge Rokke for £26m, more than four times their own bid.

A shopping centre now sits where the Premier League stadium was to be built.

Dublin would not get its team, but nor would Wimbledon keep theirs with the club ultimately moved to Milton Keynes in 2004.

In the community left behind, AFC Wimbledon were born, starting life in the ninth tier of English football that same year with Heller among four co-founders.

Three decades on from those first murmurs of a move to Dublin, the reclaimed club are a League One side and since returned to their spiritual home of Plough Lane.

“You talk about the FA Cup, league finishes, cup semi-finals, but for me what they’ve done, that’s the biggest achievement in the history of the football club,” said Cunningham.

“To be knocked for six, to go careening down the leagues, and come back, it’s a success every time they take the pitch. Good luck to them.

“The Dublin thing? It’s a bit of nostalgia now, maybe a bit of sadness at a missed opportunity.

“People would be laughing now but it’s something that would have worked, no doubt about it. Absolutely, people would have rowed in behind it.”

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West Ham’s reality check: Why their path back to the Premier League won’t be easy

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Before a ball was kicked against Burnley on Sunday, there was a misplaced arrogance from some that West Ham United would walk the 2026-27 Championship. Instead, they received a much-needed reality check in their season opener.

Following the club’s relegation from the Premier League last season, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are understandably considered promotion favourites. But they squandered a two-goal lead at Turf Moor, were taunted by the home supporters and ended up with a 2-2 draw that has created more angst than optimism. It was a game that highlighted West Ham’s lack of squad depth, with Nuno unable to influence the game with offensive substitutions.

West Ham are depleted of attacking options with untested academy prospects Joshua Ajala and Josh Landers the only recognisable forward options on the bench. Despite Arne Engels’ imminent £22million arrival from Celtic, this squad is still not equipped to cope with the rigours of a 46-game schedule in the second tier.

Other glaring issues include Nuno being prone to a drab approach when his side is in front. Last season West Ham dropped 20 points from winning positions, and retreating further into their half for large spells of the second half on Sunday cost them again.

“Disappointing,” said Nuno in his post-match press conference when asked for his thoughts on the performance. “We did a very good first half. We created a lot of chances and we were able to control and stop Burnley but not so good in the second half. After we scored the second goal, I think we should have done better to get the result. Many things (frustrated me about the performance in the second half), many things that we have to improve for the next one (a London derby against Charlton Athletic on Saturday).

“But we need more (bodies), especially in the offensive part of the team. We have young lads, we have options in both full-back positions like in the last game, but we need more bodies in the offensive part of the team. The club knows the targets and the needs of the team. We’re working very hard and trying to get the bodies in as soon as possible.”

Jarrod Bowen has stayed with West Ham in the second tier but that is no guarantee of success in a tough division (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Although Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville joined Tottenham Hotspur and Al-Hilal respectively for a combined fee of £145m, West Ham have surprisingly managed to keep club captain Jarrod Bowen and fellow star players Konstantinos Mavropanos and Taty Castellanos. But it was fellow relegated side Burnley who seemed better suited to challenge for a return to the Premier League at the first attempt.

They were the opposite to West Ham and had more attacking impetus, with goalscorer Zian Flemming their chief tormentor. Nuno’s side struggled to cope with his aerial threat. Past the hour-mark, his headed chance hit the post and moments after Ollie Scarles cleared Flemming’s towering header off the line. Burnley kept knocking on the door and West Ham duly allowed them to with little resistance. When new signing Manor Solomon opened his account and established a two-goal lead in the 72nd minute, it still felt inevitable that Burnley would restore parity.

Burnley is a good team and Flemming is a good striker,said Nuno. They reacted well and created chances, so fair play to them. When you are in front of the result in the last minutes of the game, it’s a learning process that we have to do and fast. We cannot let these two points get away from us.

Nuno substituted Pablo at half-time as a precaution after the striker developed a potential calf injury. James Ward-Prowse replaced the forward but mostly played out of position as a makeshift right winger. It was another reminder of the threadbare state of West Ham’s squad. This has prompted the head coach to give academy players opportunities, with Lewis Orford and Mohamadou Kante impressing.

But fellow academy graduate Scarles had a lapse in contraction when he conceded a penalty for his rash tackle on Marcus Edwards. Flemming scored from 12 yards and Scarles was consoled by Solomon as the players headed towards the tunnel post-match. Scarles memorably made an individual mistake against Fulham in December, which led to Raul Jimenez’s match-winning goal. The left-back remains first-choice with El Haji Malick Diouf expected to leave, but he needs to display more maturity.

The draw should be a wake up call for West Ham and their response needs to mirror their start to the Championship 2011-12 season. The club, then managed by Sam Allardyce, lost their opener against Cardiff City but then embarked on a seven-game unbeaten run. Bowen, Castellanos and co need to show similar resilience.

“In the second half, we didn’t play as we should have,Solomon told the club’s official website. “We were leading and the game was in our hands, but I think we lacked control. We didn’t dominate or play with the ball, and we didn’t create enough chances.

“We invited some of their attacks, so overall we’re disappointed. We knew it was going to be a tough game against Burnley, but you still need to control the ball and have more maturity.”

Welcome to the Championship.

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