Arsenal delivered a dominant performance to claim the 2026 FA Community Shield with a convincing 3-0 victory over Manchester City at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday. The Premier League champions made the perfect start to the new season, racing into an early lead after just 23 or 24 seconds when Myles Lewis-Skelly threaded a superb pass through to Riccardo Calafiori, who coolly slotted the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Kai Havertz doubled the advantage in the 28th minute, heading home after summer signing Christos Tzolis nodded Martin Ødegaard’s cross back across goal, with Donnarumma unable to keep it out. Three minutes into the second half, Tzolis again provided the assist as Ødegaard produced a moment of individual brilliance, skipping past Josko Gvardiol, dummying the goalkeeper and rolling the ball into the empty net to seal the win.
The result marked Arsenal’s 18th Community Shield triumph and their biggest margin of victory in the competition since they also beat City 3-0 in 2014. New City manager Enzo Maresca endured a difficult first competitive outing following Pep Guardiola’s departure, as his side struggled to match Arsenal’s intensity and sharpness. The Gunners’ victory provides strong momentum ahead of their Premier League title defence, which begins against Coventry on Friday.
