Arteta beats Wenger as Arsenal win 3-0 in Premier League opener

Arsenal began their 2025/26 Premier League title defence with a 3-0 victory over newly promoted Coventry City at the Emirates Stadium. The result gave Mikel Arteta his 150th league win as the club’s manager in his 249th match.

That milestone moved Arteta ahead of Arsene Wenger and into an exclusive group of managers who have reached 150 Premier League victories in fewer than 250 games. He is now the fifth-fastest coach to reach the mark in the competition’s history.

Only Pep Guardiola, José Mourinho, Jürgen Klopp and Sir Alex Ferguson achieved the feat sooner. Guardiola reached 150 wins after 204 matches, while Mourinho needed 231, Klopp 237 and Ferguson 247.

Arsenal established control before half-time against Coventry. Kai Havertz opened the scoring and Bukayo Saka added a second, leaving the champions two goals ahead after 22 minutes.

Martin Ødegaard completed the scoring shortly after the interval. The Arsenal captain followed his recent Community Shield success with his first Premier League goal of the campaign.

The victory gives Arsenal a perfect start to their defence of the league title and underlines Arteta’s rapid accumulation of wins since taking charge in north London. Coventry, promoted ahead of the new season, could not prevent the champions from recording a decisive opening-day result.