Maresca's Man City problems are more than a missing midfield

Enzo Maresca's Man City were exposed in a brutal defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield; the spine of his side all faced issues, particularly noticeable in midfield; Man City play their first Premier League game against Bournemouth on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Main Event; kick-off 2pm

Enzo Maresca spoke of his desire to "close the gap" between Manchester City and Arsenal before watching his side suffer a painful 3-0 defeat in the Community Shield on Sunday. Perhaps the gaping holes through the spine of his team should be more of an immediate area of focus.

The manner of that loss has raised qualifying questions, the only real clarity offered by the Premier League champions. Mikel Arteta's side brutally exposed a series of City shortcomings: defensively disorganised, missing a midfield and lacking leadership, to name but a few.

Six days out from the start of their campaign proper, City appear worryingly incomplete.

"We have it quite clear what we need to do, and for sure we are going to do something before the transfer window closes," Maresca reassured after the game, before it was confirmed later the same evening that Rodri would be departing for Barcelona . Not sure that was exactly what he had in mind.

City's trust in Maresca is such that defeat in the Community Shield will not cause a huge internal stir. There does, however, need to be a period of introspection. Does the Italian have the tools he needs to play the system he intends to? Sunday suggests not.

Beyond being schooled by a slicker side in possession, all three of Arsenal's well-worked goals scored from open play, City's lack of imposition should be a major concern. Maresca's XI was packed with creators and scorers but none were effective. They played 200 more passes in the opposition half than Arsenal, yielding one big chance to Arsenal's four. That was missed by Erling Haaland.

Given Nico O'Reilly, Elliot Anderson and Haaland only returned from their post-World Cup breaks a few days prior, it's a wonder they were involved at all. None of that trio were particularly productive, albeit their underperformance comes with caveats and will rank low on Mareca's list of misgivings.

Much higher on his evolving catalogue of to-dos will be addressing how disconnected City's units are, all playing individually, much to Arsenal's aid. Mateo Kovacic's role as the central rotator did not work. Nor, for the most part, did O'Reilly's progression into midfield to create the 3-2 shape Maresca favours in build-up.

All O'Reilly succeeded in doing was leaving huge voids of space for Noni Madueke to run into. At one point Ben White was even playing like a winger. The talented 21-year-old, for all his many strengths - and he has great potential to thrive in a de facto central midfield role - was swamped by the class and nous of Arsenal's enforcers. He cannot yet do what Bernardo Silva or Rodri can do.

When the Gunners did arrive with numbers and intent to threaten, City held such a high defensive line it almost bated the obvious opening. No player engaged. And so Martin Odegaard's mind was made up for him.