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Arsenal vs Manchester City: Community Shield preview and team news
15th August, 2026 08:36 AM
Arsenal and Manchester City will meet at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Sunday, August 16, 2026, as the two English giants battle for the 2026 Community Shield.
The match brings together the reigning Premier League champions and the FA Cup winners, while also renewing the rivalry between Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola. Arsenal won the corresponding fixture in 2023 after a penalty shootout and will be hoping for another successful outing against City.
Match preview
Arsenal head into the contest with a strong recent record in the Community Shield. The Gunners have lifted the trophy 17 times, although only Manchester United have collected more titles in the competition.
Arsenal’s recent success in the fixture has been closely linked to penalty shootouts. They defeated Liverpool on penalties in 2020 before producing another shootout victory over Manchester City three years later.
Their preparations for the new campaign have, however, been mixed. Arteta’s side recorded victories over some of their opponents during pre-season but ended their official friendly programme without winning any of their final three matches.
They drew with Como before eventually progressing on penalties, while Borussia Dortmund also failed to beat them during normal time before Arsenal prevailed from the spot.
Manchester City have won the Community Shield seven times, with three of those successes arriving during Guardiola’s tenure. Their most recent triumph came in 2024, when they defeated Manchester United in a penalty shootout.
City qualified for this year’s contest after winning the FA Cup final against Chelsea. New manager Enzo Maresca has enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season in normal time, although his team suffered a shootout defeat against Inter Milan after a 1-1 draw.
The Citizens subsequently recorded 3-1 victories over a K-League XI and Atletico Madrid. Omar Marmoush scored twice against Atletico in the absence of Erling Haaland.
Haaland was eventually the decisive figure when City defeated Arsenal 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium in April. That result extended City’s impressive record against the Gunners, with only one defeat in their previous six meetings.
City will also be attempting to beat Arsenal in three successive encounters for the first time since 2023.
Arsenal pre-season record
Win
Win
Loss
Loss
Draw
Manchester City pre-season record
Draw
Win
Win
Team news
Arsenal will have to cope without two important defenders. Jurrien Timber remains sidelined with a groin problem, while William Saliba is expected to spend considerably longer recovering from a back injury.
The rest of Arteta’s squad is available, including players who represented England and Spain at the World Cup. However, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Zubimendi are unlikely to be handed starting roles because none of them featured during pre-season.
New signing Bruno Guimaraes is available to make his first start after featuring from the bench against Como. David Raya is expected to return in goal after producing an impressive penalty-saving display during the week, meaning Kepa Arrizabalaga could drop to the substitutes’ bench.
Manchester City have also welcomed Haaland back into training, but the striker is another player who could be restricted to a substitute appearance after missing the entire pre-season programme.
Maresca may also need to make changes because Savinho was absent from training due to illness. Tijjani Reijnders could also miss the match as he reportedly edges closer to a move to the Saudi Pro League.
Rodri remains unavailable following back surgery, leaving Nico Gonzalez and Mateo Kovacic likely to operate in central midfield. New arrival Elliot Anderson has yet to make his City debut and is unlikely to start.
