Dorothy

On the evidence of this 3-0 win for Arsenal alone, you'd quite strongly fancy the champions to disprove the possibility of any hocus pocus that keeps those who claim England's first prize from earning its biggest. For so many other reasons you would probably be vindicated next year.

Maresca isn't as cavalier in his approach, favoring more of a rigid build-up, but in adding Elliot Anderson, City will have plenty of dynamism under him. On paper, while it may not look like City did much business during the summer transfer window, as most of their additions have been ones that improve squad depth, that's where what they've paid for their additions needs to come into play. At a club-record signing at just over $135 million, if Anderson was compared to leagues around the world, he would be the 10th highest-spending league, coming in just behind Portugal and ahead of Belgium.

While that'll set high expectations for Anderson, with Nottingham Forest, he already developed into a star midfielder in the Premier League before also taking the pitch for England at the World Cup. Even during a time when Barcelona are launching bids for Rodri, with Anderson, the future of the City midfield will be in good hands. Anderson is able to get stuck in defensively and push the ball forward where City have the most dangerous striker in the world, Erling Haaland, waiting for service.

This was an Arsenal that had got its swagger back, that played with a disdain for the opposition that can only be shown by those with a championship medal back home. The route to the title had been one of emotional whiplash, in every "it's so over" there emerging a "we're so back" for the ages. Today was for cutting loose, the victorious supporters in Cardiff's Principality Stadium not so politely informing the smaller Manchester City contingent that they had seen the champions and should now consider getting home post haste.