Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 to lift Community Shield

Arsenal have opened the 2026/27 campaign with silverware after dismantling Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday.

For Mikel Arteta, it was a statement victory for the reigning Premier League champions. For new Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca, it was a brutally difficult introduction to competitive football in the City dugout.

Arsenal needed just 23 seconds to take control.

Riccardo Calafiori raced through to put the Gunners ahead almost immediately, producing the fastest Community Shield goal since 1968 and setting the tone for a one-sided contest.

City struggled to recover from the early blow, while Arsenal continued to look sharper and more settled.

Kai Havertz doubled the advantage before half-time, with the Germany international heading beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma to give Arteta's side a commanding 2-0 lead.

Three minutes after the restart, Arsenal effectively put the contest beyond City when captain Martin Ødegaard finished for the third goal.

New signing Christos Tzolis was instrumental in Arsenal's attacking display, contributing two assists as the Gunners repeatedly exposed weaknesses in City's defence.

Maresca's difficult beginning

For Maresca, the defeat could hardly have provided a more uncomfortable competitive debut.

Replacing Pep Guardiola was always going to represent an enormous challenge, and City's performance offered little evidence that the transition will be straightforward.

There were occasional flashes of the attacking threat expected from a side containing Phil Foden and Erling Haaland. Both forced saves from Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, but neither was able to find a way through a defence that remained composed throughout.

Raya's clean sheet completed an afternoon in which Arsenal looked stronger at both ends of the pitch.

The Community Shield is traditionally regarded as a curtain-raiser rather than a definitive measure of a season to come, but the manner of Arsenal's victory will nevertheless encourage Arteta and his players.

The Premier League champions have begun their title defence with a trophy — and, more importantly, with a performance that suggests they intend to carry last season's momentum into the new campaign.

Ødegaard's message after the final whistle was equally ambitious: Arsenal, he said, want to “win everything.”

For City, Maresca now has a short window to correct the problems exposed in Cardiff before the real Premier League test begins.

For Arsenal, the message is already out.

The champions are back, and they have started with a statement.