Arsenal wasted no time reminding the Premier League who they intend to be this season, dismantling Manchester City 3-0 at the Principality Stadium on Sunday to lift a record-extending 18th Community Shield.
For a City side entering a new chapter under incoming boss Enzo Maresca in the post-Pep Guardiola era, it was a chastening way to begin.
The afternoon was effectively decided before most fans had settled into their seats. Ben White found space down the right and slipped a pass to the busy Myles Lewis-Skelly, whose vision opened up the City defense for Riccardo Calafiori to run onto.
The Italian didn’t need a second invitation, slotting coolly beyond a helpless Gianluigi Donnarumma, making his city bow between the posts to make it 1-0 inside 24 seconds, one of the fastest goals in the fixture’s long history.
City tried to wrestle back a foothold, and Phil Foden drew the first save of the day from David Raya with a driven effort from range that the Spaniard did well to keep out. But the response was fleeting.
On 28 minutes, Arsenal struck again through a slice of combination play that has quickly become a hallmark of Mikel Arteta’s side: Martin Odegaard’s cross to the back post was nodded back across goal by summer signing Christos Tzolis, and Kai Havertz did the rest, guiding a downward header past Donnarumma for his first goal of the campaign.
City had openings before the interval; Raya smothered a close-range Erling Haaland effort, and Ben White threw himself in front of a Jeremy Doku shot to preserve the two-goal cushion, but there was a growing sense that this simply wasn’t City’s day.
Haaland, only recently back in training after the World Cup, would be substituted in the 53rd minute, having managed just seven touches, a striking illustration of how little service City’s attack was getting.
Arsenal made the game safe almost immediately after the restart. Lewis-Skelly again supplied the width, finding Tzolis on the left, and the Greek winger picked out the surging run of his captain.
Odegaard did the rest himself, gliding past Josko Gvardiol before rounding Donnarumma with a composed dummy and rolling the ball into an empty net. It was a moment of real significance for the Norwegian, whose 2025/26 season had been ravaged by injury, his first goal since December, and the strike that earned him the player-of-the-match award.
From there, Arsenal comfortably saw out the contest. Bukayo Saka twice went close to a fourth, first finding the side netting and then curling narrowly over, while at the other end Raya produced a smart stop to deny Antoine Semenyo late on and preserve the clean sheet.
Arsenal’s supporters, sensing blood, serenaded Maresca with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” for spells of the second half, a pointed welcome to English football’s fiercest rivalry.
For Arteta, the performance will offer considerable encouragement heading into the new campaign, with the front foot pressing, quick transitions and set-piece variety all on display against the club’s closest title rivals. For City and Maresca, there is plenty to address before the Premier League begins in earnest.
Arsenal’s celebrations will be brief. The Gunners now turn to defending their Premier League crown, opening the campaign at home to newly promoted Coventry City on Friday, a considerably less glamorous test, but one Arteta will want approached with the same intensity shown in Cardiff.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Arsenal’s 3-0 Community Shield win over Manchester City was built on ruthless efficiency, scoring inside 24 seconds and never letting City settle.
This wasn’t a fluke scoreline but a statement of intent, with Arsenal’s speed, cohesion, and clinical finishing exposing a City side still finding its feet under new manager Enzo Maresca.
Martin Odegaard’s return to scoring form after a long injury lay-off is the other standout thread a reminder that a fully fit Arsenal side is a serious threat heading into the new Premier League season.
