Frank Lampard says Arsenal are “different level”, but remains confident Coventry can bounce back

Frank Lampard says Arsenal are “different level”, but remains confident Coventry can bounce back after his side’s 3-0 opening day defeat.

The Gunners started where they left off, cruising to a comfortable victory with some rather nice football, and goals from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard.

A harsh lesson for the Sky Blues, not helped by Coventry’s poor defending, a tough away day to begin with, they will be hoping to put it right next game. when they face fellow newly promoted side in Hull City.

Match stats

Shots
Arsenal – 20
Coventry – 4

Shots on target
Arsenal – 6
Coventry – 1

Touches in the opposition box
Arsenal – 36
Coventry – 4

Possession percentage
Arsenal – 64.50%
Coventry – 35.50%

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said to Sky Sports after the game:

“There was a lot to like. We were really dominant and flowed with the ball, connecting well with one another. We should have scored more goals.

“Overall the performance was positive with some big individual performances.

“When you talk about connection and chemistry those three [Saka, Odegaard and White] have that. They play so many minutes together in the past but they didn’t play much last year due to different situations. Even on the left side with Tzolis you are seeing different dynamics. I was really impressed.”

Martin Odegaard speaking to Sky Sports:

“The first game is always a bit nervy. They played well, gave us a good fight and a good battle. Was key to get the first goal and control the game. It was solid.

“We looked good. We could have created and scored more. We can be more precise and sharp around the box. It’s a good performance but we can do even better.

“The quality in the squad is unbelievable. You can put anyone on the pitch and they can perform at the highest level. We push one another to get better.”

Coventry boss Frank Lampard:

“I didn’t mind the reaction towards the end of the game as we went on. I saw some okay things there. It was a big learning curve, I believe they kept going, they kept going much to the end.

“There’s Premier League debuts, there’s noise here, I remember that [as a player]. It’s different to the Championship in a way, no matter where you go.

“So those things are things to handle as a player, and we talked about a lot before the game. They’ll have to go through that and experience that.”

“They played like champions” 🏆

Frank Lampard said Coventry will learn lessons after their 3-0 opening day defeat to Arsenal ❌ pic.twitter.com/wqA2kngUVt

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 21, 2026

“We were a little bit in our shells” ❌

Coventry captain Matt Grimes blames his sides slow start in the first-half for their 3-0 defeat against Arsenal 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/FzFM166JJh

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 21, 2026

Here’s how fans reacted after Frank Lampard says Arsenal were “different level”, and remains confident Coventry can bounce back…

@SteveBellPropRT: The big positive for me is that Arsenal didn’t score any goals of their own making. If we can cut out the silly mistakes then we’ve got a decent chance. All 3 we conceded tonight were bad, but they were our own doing. A few less nerves and we’ll be okay.

_Deez_Games: Honestly, I’ll take it. Best team in the country, baptism by fire. Gifted them one of the 3, looked naive and made mistakes. 2nd half much better, Rushworth got some confidence back. Could’ve been a LOT worse let’s be honest!

@KevinUnitt:
Positives:
– Simms (superb)
– Tuna (will cause lesser teams issues)
– Bobby and Amenda battled well
– JDS still looks technically good at this level
– They didn’t give up
– We’re in the Premier League for God’s sake!
– You can block truckload of twats here in one swoop.
#PUSB

@cov_t0: You know what. That 3-0 score line is 100% not as bad as it looks. Except some defensive errors we have looked alright we seemed to have found our shape that 2nd half. Let’s hope we can improve in the next

@CharPUSB: Some promising signs imo. Amenda and Awoiyni looked a class above, Da Silva was impressive and Tchaouna looked bright. Toughest game of the season done. Heads up

@OllieSBA: Anyone from outside will take the piss, players can’t let that get to them. 3-0 to the champions isn’t bad at all. Positive displays from certain players. ONTO HULLgame. Pretty good 2nd half

@Stuart_Linnell: Nothing we didn’t expect. Toughest test done, so now we settle down to life in the top flight. Lots of promise, lots to work on, lots of work to do. It was always going to be tough, always going to be a learning curve, and we will learn. Play up Sky Blues.

@OllieSBA: I’m happy enough with that, showed signs of promise in a game that was all about experience and killing nerves. I’d be starting Rudoni over Oneyka next game along with Awoniyi up top he looked really good. Bring on Hull🩵

@NickJH83: Nothing to worry about. I predicted 3-0 and so it was. Our season will not be determined by this performance or result. We move on.

@JgJonnyboy1969: Neutral fan here, you literally had the hardest away day in the Premier league as your opening fixture so no shame in the result. Actually think you’ll be ok this season, proper club Coventry. P.S look after Big T. 🤝

@RobPUSB: Didn’t really lay a glove on them. Individual mistakes from our fullbacks cost us all 3 goals which is disappointing. But they are incredibly good, and we can hopefully only get better. Onwards. 🩵