Arsenal 3-0 Manchester City in Community Shield at Principality Stadium

Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales in the FA Community Shield on August 16, 2026, securing an early-season trophy while new City boss Enzo Maresca suffered defeat in his first game in charge. The win provided Mikel Arteta with a season-opening success in the traditional curtain-raiser to the campaign.

The result represented Arsenal's fourth victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield and preserved their 100% winning record against City in the fixture; Riccardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard were the scorers. The match unfolded at pace from the outset, producing an unusually early goal for the competition.

After pre-season displays that raised questions, Arsenal opened the scoring inside a minute when Myles Lewis-Skelly, deployed in midfield, threaded a pass to left back Riccardo Calafiori and the defender finished past Gianluigi Donnarumma after 23 seconds. That strike was the first goal scored in the opening minute of the fixture in 58 years and set the match's early tempo.

City did not fashion a clear chance until the 20th minute when Phil Foden curled a long-range effort that David Raya pushed away after diving to his right; Raya also produced a later save from Erling Haaland. Those interventions limited Manchester City's opportunities in the first half despite their attempts to respond.

Arsenal doubled their advantage before half-time when Odegaard floated a cross to the far post, where new signing Christos Tzolis headed the ball back across goal for Kai Havertz to nod home after Donnarumma accidentally spilled the ball over the line. The second goal gave Arsenal a comfortable cushion going into the interval.

Three minutes after the restart Tzolis turned provider again, setting up Odegaard whose delicate first touch took the ball past Josko Gvardiol and allowed him to beat a wrong-footed Donnarumma. Haaland, last season's Golden Boot winner with 27 goals, was kept quiet and was withdrawn before the hour-mark, while Raya's earlier saves helped Arsenal preserve a clean sheet.

"We showed our level today, we showed that we're ready," Odegaard told TNT Sports. "I think we showed that we're serious, we want to do ‌it again. There's more trophies to go for and that's the aim." He added later: "We're ⁠going to attack it. We want to do it again. It was an unbelievable achievement and ⁠experience for all of us," he said. "When you get the taste of how nice it is, you want to do it again. And there's also a few ‌other ones we want to take," he added, referring to the Champions League title that slipped through their fingers in the final against Paris St Germain. "At this club, ​you want to win all of them. But of course, that's a big one."

Arsenal will begin their new Premier League campaign on Friday against Coventry City, while Manchester City return to competitive action having seen Enzo Maresca lose his first match in charge.