Premier League champions Arsenal made a strong statement ahead of the new season, defeating Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield in Cardiff.
Enzo Maresca endured a difficult start to his first competitive match since replacing Pep Guardiola, as Riccardo Calafiori gave Arsenal the lead after just 23 seconds. Kai Havertz then doubled the advantage before the break, with captain Martin Odegaard adding a third shortly after half-time following a defensive error from City.
City were caught off guard from Arsenal’s first attack. Myles Lewis-Skelly, who has been linked with a move away from the club in recent days, played a key role in the opener. After Noni Madueke kept a deep cross in play and restarted the attack, Lewis-Skelly threaded a superb pass through the City defence, allowing Calafiori to beat Gianluigi Donnarumma one-on-one.
Donnarumma was beaten by his Italy team-mate, while David Raya was forced into a save at the other end to deny Phil Foden. The City goalkeeper was again at fault in the 28th minute when Havertz headed home.
Debutant Christos Tzolis nodded Martin Odegaard’s floated delivery across the face of goal, and although Donnarumma got a hand to Havertz’s downward header, he could not prevent it from finding the net.
City’s best opportunity came when Erling Haaland fired straight at Raya from a promising position. Arsenal, however, nearly extended their lead before half-time, with Calafiori volleying over and Josko Gvardiol clearing Odegaard’s effort off the line.
Jeremy Doku was replaced by Jack Grealish at the interval, with the Belgian later spotted with an ice pack on his leg. City’s misery deepened three minutes after the restart when Odegaard went past Gvardiol, rounded Donnarumma and calmly finished to make it 3-0.
Maresca subsequently substituted several key players, including Haaland, with the result seemingly beyond City. Raya still had to remain alert to deny Antoine Semenyo, while City were fortunate not to concede a fourth when Bukayo Saka sent Piero Hincapie’s cutback over the bar.
Fast start sets Arsenal on their way
Mikel Arteta had insisted during the week that the Community Shield was a trophy worth competing for, and Arsenal showed exactly how seriously they approached the contest.
Calafiori’s opener was the first goal scored inside the opening minute of a Community Shield match since 1968, when Bobby Owen scored for City during their 6-1 victory over West Brom.
City are rarely subjected to such heavy defeats. Since the beginning of 2025, their only other three-goal deficit against a Premier League side also came against Arsenal, in a 5-1 defeat in February 2025.
Havertz scored in that match too and now has seven goal involvements against City, comprising four goals and three assists, more than against any other club.
Arsenal’s victory was particularly impressive given that Arteta used England internationals Declan Rice and Saka for only 30 minutes from the bench, while France defender William Saliba remains sidelined with a long-term injury. Maresca, meanwhile, started several of City’s biggest World Cup names, including Haaland, Doku and new midfielder Elliot Anderson.
However, Arsenal’s victory may not necessarily be a positive sign for their Premier League title hopes in 2026-27.
Of the previous 34 Community Shield editions during the Premier League era, beginning in 1992-93, only eight winners — 24 per cent — went on to lift the English league title that season.
The last six Community Shield winners have all failed to win the Premier League in the same campaign, while only one of the previous 15 winners has gone on to become champions: Manchester City in the 2018-19 season.
