Arsenal 3-0 Manchester City
by Layth Yousif 
in Cardiff

FIRST-HALF goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Kai Havertz, followed by Martin Odegaard’s cool finish moments after the interval saw Arsenal utterly dominate Manchester City to lift the 2026 Community Shield.

In front of 58,056 fans on a hot Sunday afternoon in the Welsh capital, Mikel Arteta’s side laid down a significant marker against rivals City in their bid to land back-to-back title triumphs for the first time since the 1930s.

Calafiori scored after only 23 seconds to put the reigning Premier League champions ahead in Cardiff, ensuring two of the former Bologna left-back’s five Arsenal career goals have come against City.

Speaking after the match, Arteta hailed Calafiori’s attacking intent, saying: “I think he can be a total player. We can ask him to occupy certain areas of the pitch and when he gets in and around the box he has this intuition, his timing to create goals, to score goals. 

“But at the same time we ask him the defensive duties to do what he has to do, and we ask him because he’s capable of doing it. He knows how to do it, and if we keep him fit and available and with that physical condition, he’s a top player.”

The Italian defender’s early opener following Myles Lewis-Skelly’s assist also underlined the task City’s new boss Enzo Maresca has in replacing the legendary, but now departed Pep Guardiola in the Etihad hotseat.

Yet, the Gunners didn’t have it entirely all their own way in the opening stages with World Cup winner David Raya repelling Erling Haaland in the 23rd minute, the Spanish keeper recovering well after denying Jeremy Doku moments earlier to keep Maresca’s side out. Such was the Arsenal’s Brazilian centre-back’s determination, adrenaline pumping, it was instructive to note the 28-year-old celebrated his emphatically successful sliding tackle on the City attacker in the same fashion a striker would react to scoring a goal.

Arsenal’s overall dominance eventually told with Havertz doubling the Gunners lead before the interval with an excellent finish to make it 2-0 on 28 minutes. The goal coming after Christos Tzolis’ assist.

Stung, City swept forward shortly afterwards, but Haaland’s effort flew over the bar, much to the delight of the massed ranks of travelling Gooners.

England international Noni Madueke tested Gianluigi Donnarumma twice before half time — sandwiched between Doku fluffing a chance when well-placed — before Calafiori nearly grabbed a second with an effort that flew over the bar, as Arteta’s side went into the break with a commanding lead.

A reminder of Arsenal’s strength in depth came at the start of the second half when Declan Rice replaced Gunners £75m signing Bruno Guimarares.

A further indication came moments later, when captain Odegaard skipped past the City defence to slot past Donnarumma to make it 3-0 for his first goal of 2026. The strike arrived following excellent work in the build-up from Guimaraes’ fellow summer signing Tzolis, to post his second assist of a profitable game.

Arteta took time to praise the £34m Greek winger signed from Bruges, saying: “I think he’s coming to the team really organically. He’s fitting, he’s a really intelligent boy, and he has a massive quality which is when he’s in the last 20-30 metres. He’s so composed to pick people out around the box or to finish actions, and he’s shown that again two or three times and he was decisive.”

Such was Arsenal’s command in Cardiff on and off the pitch, city centre pubs were packed to the rafters full of hordes in red and white from north London. Gunners fans even outnumbering City at the nearby castle, champions shirts spotted in the ramparts, with blue nowhere to be seen during a pre-match stroll around Wales’s vibrant capital. While Gooners inside the stadium later taunted their City counterparts by echoing Rice’s now famous line “It’s not done yet.”

The line said by the £105 million England midfielder moments after the final whistle after City’s 2-1 win at the Etihad on April 19. A month full of twists and turns later, Rice’s words came true, when, as every Arsenal fan knows, City failed to beat Bournemouth on the south coast, as the north London giants claimed their first title in 22 long years — memorably prompting 1.5m supporters onto the streets of Islington in delirious joy at the end of the merry month of May.

Many of them were also in Cardiff savouring their side’s compelling performance against beleaguered City, who saw their hopes further fade when Bukayo Saka entered the fray on the hour mark.

The England international — whose last competitive game came when notching his hat-trick against France during the 6-4 third place clash in Miami last month — nearly scored shortly after replacing fellow Three Lions colleague Madueke, but his shot hit the side netting.

As the clock ticked down, Saka almost made it four, but lifted his effort over the bar, as gleeful Gooners chorused: “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” and other less charitable ditties aimed at Maresca, and his demoralised side.

A reflective Maresca said after the final whistle: “It’s just the beginning, we have many things that we need to do better.”

However, after such an emphatic loss for City, it was no wonder Arsenal’s substantial travelling support also sang: “second again,” at City, in a self-deprecating nod to their own three painful seasons as runners-up.

After a decade of City’s overwhelming dominance, the Gunners’ Cardiff display appears to usher in a new era, one in which Arteta’s Arsenal are set to dominate the top level of English football.