Arsenal completely dominated Manchester City in their 3-0 in the Community Shield.
Arsenal began the defence of their Premier League title in emphatic fashion, beating Manchester City 3-0 to lift the Community Shield at the Principality Stadium.
The Gunners produced a dominant display to send an early warning to their rivals ahead of the new campaign.
Mikel Arteta’s side needed less than 25 seconds to take the lead, with Riccardo Calafiori making history by scoring the fastest goal ever recorded in the FA Community Shield. Myles Lewis-Skelly created the opening with a clever reverse pass that released the Italian, who finished to give Arsenal a dream start.
The perfect start to 26/27 👊 pic.twitter.com/a7v0pCric4
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 16, 2026
Manchester City struggled to respond and were soon two goals down. New signing Christos Tzolis produced an intelligent header across goal from Martin Odegaard’s cross, allowing Kai Havertz to get on the end of it and squeeze another header past a disappointing Gianluigi Donnarumma.
City eventually began to threaten before half-time. Erling Haaland forced David Raya into a good save, while Ben White produced an excellent block to deny Jeremy Doku. Arsenal, however, remained the more dangerous side and almost added a third before the interval when only a goal-line clearance prevented Odegaard from scoring.
That third goal eventually arrived shortly after the restart. Arsenal moved the ball quickly through City’s defence with a series of incisive passes, before Odegaard coolly finished the move. The Norwegian’s composure gave Arsenal a commanding 3-0 advantage and left City’s new manager Enzo Maresca with an enormous task.
Maresca was taking charge of Manchester City in his first competitive fixture since replacing legendary manager Pep Guardiola, but the opening 45 minutes showed just how much work lies ahead. City improved in spells but struggled to contain Arsenal’s movement and attacking combinations.
The Community Shield is OURS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/DH7uzHkMvK
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 16, 2026
Bukayo Saka, introduced from the bench, came close to adding further punishment. The Arsenal winger went past Josko Gvardiol before firing into the side netting, then later lifted another excellent opportunity over the crossbar as the Gunners continued to threaten.
The victory also maintained Arteta’s perfect record in Community Shield appearances. He has now won all five of his appearances in the competition, including two victories as a player and three as Arsenal manager.
More importantly, Arsenal have opened the season with a major trophy and a statement win over one of their biggest rivals.
