Arsenal Beat Manchester City 3-0 To Win Community Shield

Last updated: August 20, 2026 4:35 am

Edited by Paul Elegbeleye | Photo: Seth Whales / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 in the FA Community Shield on Sunday at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, claiming their 18th title in the competition.

Riccardo Calafiori opened the scoring after just 23 seconds, the fastest goal in the fixture since 1968, before Kai Havertz doubled the lead on 28 minutes and Martin Ødegaard sealed victory three minutes into the second half.

The result gave Mikel Arteta’s Premier League champions their first trophy of the new season and handed Enzo Maresca a rough opening game in charge of City following Pep Guardiola’s departure this summer.

BBC Sport journalist Joe Rindl described the win as a “statement” from Arsenal over their fiercest rivals. Arteta himself struck a similar tone afterwards, telling reporters he was “extremely happy” with the performance. “I am obviously extremely happy with the performance, the result, and winning the first trophy,” Arteta said.

“I think it is down to the preparation we have done in pre-season.” He added that the squad’s early return from World Cup duty played a part, crediting “the decisions the boys took after the World Cup, to continue to get prepared.”

For Maresca, the afternoon offered little comfort in his first competitive match as City boss. Speaking to the BBC afterwards, he admitted the early setback shaped the rest of the game. “I think the goal we conceded after 25 seconds unfortunately affected the game at that moment,” Maresca said. “We had three or four chances to score and draw the game, but unfortunately we conceded the second one, and it became more complicated.”