Enzo Maresca has urged Manchester City to be active in the transfer market ahead of the Premier League's commencement, following a decisive 3-0 defeat against Arsenal in the Community Shield.
The loss exposed a need for reinforcements in central midfield, with a deal for Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi reportedly nearing completion. Maresca emphasized the importance of integrating new signings quickly, stating, "Any new signing, the sooner they arrive the better because we are starting the Premier League in one week. And if they start to work with us as soon as possible it's better that they can also understand the way we want to play."
Adding to City's midfield concerns is the potential departure of Rodri. The Spanish international was absent from the squad for the Community Shield match. Maresca acknowledged Rodri's importance, noting, "Rodri is a player who just won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or. He's a top player, all the teams need a player like Rodri so it's not about if we miss Rodri or not."
City's performance against Arsenal was criticized by Maresca for a lack of intensity from the outset. "It’s not good enough, many things are changing obviously, a new manager as well," said captain Ruben Dias. "The way the game starts sets you off, they get comfortable into their game. If there is a lesson to be learned in a final, let it be this one because there are a lot more coming. But in the end as well, this is just starting, and the most important is we're already looking forward and we'll be ready for our next game."
Maresca also commented on the selection of players who had limited training time. "Elliot was quite good for his first game. We decided to start with four [players] who had just two or three sessions. The reason why was also because sometimes players prefer to start from the beginning. The plan was to change all of them after 45 minutes or an hour maximum."
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed satisfaction with his team's dominant performance, stating that the victory sets a strong marker for their Premier League title defense. "I'm very impressed in the manner that we played, especially in the manner that we competed so that's a standard for us and if we have the standards at this level I'm sure that we're going to be really competitive," Arteta said. He also highlighted the potential for a resurgent Martin Odegaard, who has overcome injury issues. "He [Odegaard] missed five or six months for different things and it was extremely difficult for him to get any momentum, so I'm sure this year if we can maintain him fit, available with the players around him, we're going to see a very different Martin."