Arsenal sent an early warning to their Premier League rivals after beating Manchester City 3-0 to win the 2026 Community Shield at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s champions dominated the FA Cup holders to claim their second trophy in four months and their 18th Community Shield.
Arsenal needed only 23 seconds to take the lead. Myles Lewis-Skelly found Riccardo Calafiori with a superb pass, and the defender calmly beat City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who decided to be low level goalkeeper.
The early goal put Enzo Maresca’s City under pressure in his first competitive game since taking over from Pep Guardiola.
Arsenal doubled their lead in the 28th minute through Kai Havertz. Summer signing Christos Tzolis headed Martin Ødegaard’s cross back across goal, allowing Havertz to score with a downward header Donnarumma could not stop.
City struggled to respond as Arsenal controlled possession and remained dangerous on the counter.
The Gunners added a third just three minutes after the break. Tzolis found Ødegaard inside the box, and the Arsenal captain used a clever fake shot to wrong-foot Donnarumma before calmly placing the ball into the opposite corner.
The win gives Arsenal strong momentum ahead of their title defence and underlines their growing rivalry with City.
For Maresca, however, the defeat marks a poor start to the post-Guardiola era.
The match was played in Cardiff because Wembley was unavailable for The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn tour.
Arsenal now begin the new campaign with another trophy and a clear warning to their rivals.
