Arteta reaches 150 EPL wins as Arsenal begin title defence with Coventry victory

Mikel Arteta marked his 150th Premier League victory as Arsenal manager in emphatic fashion as the defending champions opened their title defence with a 3-0 win over newly promoted Coventry City at the Emirates on Friday night.

Arsenal made a fast start, with Kai Havertz opening the scoring in the 15th minute after being set up by Riccardo Calafiori.

Bukayo Saka doubled the advantage eight minutes later to give the Gunners a commanding 2-0 lead.

Arsenal continued to control the match after the break and Martin Ødegaard added a third in the 49th minute, with Ben White providing the assist.

The victory extended Arsenal’s remarkable opening-day record to five consecutive wins and maintained their dominance against newly promoted sides.

The Gunners are unbeaten in their last 45 home Premier League matches against promoted teams and have now won 17 of their last 18 home-and-away meetings with sides promoted to the top flight.

Arteta’s victory was particularly significant as it made him the fifth-fastest manager in Premier League history to reach 150 wins.

Only Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp and Sir Alex Ferguson achieved the milestone quicker.

Coventry, meanwhile, were unable to produce the major opening-night upset they had hoped for on their return to the Premier League.

Their wait for a first Premier League victory since April 2001 therefore continues, while Arsenal have sent an early warning to their title rivals with a commanding start to their campaign.