Arsenal have won the 2026 Community Shield after a convincing 3-0 win against Manchester City in Cardiff.
Riccardo Calafiori got the Premier League champions’ season off to the perfect start with 23 seconds on the clock as he finished smartly following a wonderful assist from Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Kai Havertz headed in to double the lead in the 28th minute before Martin Odegaard superbly deceived Gianluigi Donnarumma straight after half-time to make it 3-0.
Arsenal will take plenty of confidence into the first game of their Premier League title defence — they face newly promoted Coventry City in the curtain raiser on Friday.
Whether it is smart to read a lot into this result for Arsenal will become clear by the end of the season.
But there is certainly the case to be made that Mikel Arteta’s side are front runners to be Premier League champions again. They look as strong — if not stronger — than last season, while a number of their title rivals like Manchester City are in periods of transition.
Enzo Maresca endured a nightmarish first competitive match in charge of Manchester City as Arsenal scored inside 24 seconds before powering to a 3-0 victory.
Playful chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” came from Arsenal’s jubilant supporters toward Maresca for part of the game in which City rarely threatened opposition goalkeeper David Raya.
Erling Haaland — only just back in training after the World Cup — was substituted in the 53rd minute after having just seven touches.
It was the perfect preparation for Arsenal ahead of the beginning of its Premier League title defense — at home to Coventry on Friday.
“I think we showed our level today — that we are ready,” Odegaard, Arsenal’s captain, said. “We are serious and we want to do it again.”
City launches its league campaign two days later at home to Bournemouth and it remains to be seen if Maresca reacts to this defeat by changing his team around.
The pressure will be on Arsenal to make sure their league title was not just a one-off and can be the start of a dynasty.
