Arsenal drew first blood in the 2026/27 season as they beat Manchester City 3-0 to claim the Community Shield in Cardiff on Sunday.
The Premier League champions took the lead after just 24 seconds, with Riccardo Calafiori finishing past compatriot Gianluigi Donnarumma after being picked out by Myles Lewis-Skelly — whose North London future looks in doubt.
Mikel Arteta’s men didn’t let up from there, with debutant Christos Tzolis providing two assists: first for Kai Havertz, then for the impressive Martin Odegaard after the break.
It was a real statement of intent from Arsenal, but Enzo Maresca has serious work to do after his first game in charge of Man City went about as poorly as possible.
Last 10 Community Shield winners
| Year | Winner | Scoreline | Runner-up |
| 2026 | Arsenal | 3-0 | Man City |
| 2025 | Crystal Palace | 2-2 (3-2 pen) | Liverpool |
| 2024 | Man City | 1-1 (7-6 pen) | Man Utd |
| 2023 | Arsenal | 1-1 (4-1 pen) | Man City |
| 2022 | Liverpool | 3-1 | Man City |
| 2021 | Leicester City | 1-0 | Man City |
| 2020 | Arsenal | 1-1 (5-4 pen) | Liverpool |
| 2019 | Man City | 1-1 (5-4 pen) | Liverpool |
| 2018 | Man City | 2-0 | Chelsea |
| 2017 | Arsenal | 1-1 (4-1 pen) | Chelsea |
Tzolis tears Man City apart in perfect Arsenal debut
The signing of Christos Tzolis certainly raised a few eyebrows around the Emirates Stadium earlier this summer, given his previous failure in England with Norwich City.
However, the Greek winger has grown exponentially since then with Club Brugge, and he was on a mission to prove it here.
It really was the perfect debut for Tzolis, who grabbed two assists as Arsenal tore Man City to shreds. The first saw Tzolis square the ball with his head to Kai Havertz after being expertly picked out by Martin Odegaard as the Gunners made it 2-0. The second came just after half-time, with Tzolis getting one-on-one with Abdukodir Khusanov and firing an inch-perfect pass into the box to find the run of Odegaard, who put Gianluigi Donnarumma on the floor before rolling the ball into the net.
They were just two moments in a standout performance from Tzolis, with the 24-year-old creating a match-high three chances, attempting four dribbles and having six touches in the opposition box, while chipping in with two interceptions, three tackles, and four recoveries.
The departure of Leandro Trossard could have hurt Arsenal more than many expected. However, Tzolis enjoyed a debut so impressive that those fears now appear to be unfounded.
Passive Man City defending
While Arsenal deserve great credit for their attacking play and control of this match, you must cast a worried glance over Manchester City’s defending.
All three goals saw the 2025/26 FA Cup winners stand passively off Arsenal while they progressed into dangerous areas. That didn’t change once the Gunners reached the final third.
On the first goal, Calafiori ghosted into the box much to the apparent surprise of Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, who admittedly were not helped by those in front of them failing to track runners.
On the second, the entire Man City left flank stood and admired Odegaard, allowing Arsenal’s greatest technician the freedom to find Tzolis at the back post.
And for the third goal, it was a similar story, with Khusanov — a player not short of pace — seemingly afraid of engaging Tzolis, who had an easy time returning the favour to Odegaard with an expert pass for his second assist.
The numbers tell a story, with Man City winning just 46% of the ground duels contested, while Arsenal out-tackled them 16-11.
The Community Shield is, of course, not the greatest barometer of how a team will do over the course of a season. That said, there are some glaring issues that Maresca needs to quickly address to get his reign and the post-Pep Guardiola era off to a strong start.
Arsenal vs Man City: One important piece of context for each side
Arsenal: The Gunners faithful will be licking their lips at what they could achieve this season, especially given how the likes of Tzolis and Odegaard took City apart. Even more exciting is the fact that they did this despite Declan Rice only coming on at half-time and Bukayo Saka on the hour, while Viktor Gyokeres and World Cup winner Martin Zubimendi only featured for late cameos. Fellow Spaniard Mikel Merino and England star Eberechi Eze didn’t even get on, while William Saliba was entirely absent through injury. The champions will open their Premier League campaign at home to Coventry on Friday, and expectations will be even higher now.
Man City: While fans will leave Cardiff very worried about their side’s passive defending, Man City won’t be panicking too much. It’s going to take time for Maresca to get his ideas across after such a long spell with Guardiola in charge of this side. What’s more, it was a disrupted line-up, with veterans like Bernardo Silva and John Stones gone, Elliot Anderson making his debut, Erling Haaland only fit for 53 minutes, and the likes of Marc Guehi and Rayan Cherki coming off the bench. Maresca’s reign should be viewed as a project, not a sprint for instant gratification, and there were always going to be a few teething problems emerging from the shadow of Guardiola.