English Community Shield
2026-08-16 - Arsenal vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Community Shield
Sunday 16th August 2026 - Kick Off 3pm
This game is live on TV
Arsenal
A two decade wait to call themselves English Champions came to an end last season and Arsenal have been set as the favourites to win the Premier League title again in May 2027. New signings have bolstered the options available to Mikel Arteta, although the fans will be hoping that Arsenal are ready to do more business before the summer transfer window is closed.
The English Community Shield is still seen as a 'glorified friendly' at home, but players coming into the country are quite surprised that any trophy would be dismissed. There is also the motivation for Arsenal to make an early statement against one of their main title rivals having concluded their build up to the new season with a draw against Como.
Arsenal had been on a roll to end the last season and had won 5 in a row in all competitions before taking the lead in the Champions League Final against Paris Saint-Germain. They were not able to hold onto that advantage and eventually succumbed to defeat on a Penalty Shoot Out, but Arsenal have not lost a match in normal time since going down to a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City in the Premier League in April.
Jurrien Timber and William Saliba are set to miss out and likely absent for the start of the Premier League season. Some of the squad were playing on the final weekend of the 2026 World Cup and the likes of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka are unlikely to start.
Manchester City
It is all change at Manchester City and the team are about to embark on a new season without Pep Guardiola at the helm for the first time since 2015. The long rumoured appointment of Enzo Maresca was finally confirmed after Manchester City agreed to pay compensation to Chelsea, but there are some questions to be answered as to how this squad will respond to a new voice in the dressing room.
They came up short in the Premier League title pursuit, but Manchester City did win the domestic Cup double and that means they picked up fifteen major titles in the Pep Guardiola era. It clearly means there is going to be plenty of pressure of expectation on the shoulders of the new manager and Enzo Maresca will be keen to see his team make a positive start, even in what many consider to be a friendly fixture.
Manchester City concluded the season with wins in half of the last 6 games played in all competitions, while they have been in decent form in the limited friendly matches played in preparation for the upcoming season. The club had failed to win any of 3 Community Shield fixtures, but Manchester City did get the better of rivals Manchester United two years ago.
Rodri is set to miss out with an injury, although he is also the target of real interest from Barcelona. Both Elliot Anderson and Erling Haaland are back in training, but the manager may choose to ease them in as Enzo Maresca looks to stamp his authority on the squad.
Head to Head
Manchester City picked up four points from Arsenal in the Premier League and also beat them at Wembley Stadium in the League Cup Final in March.
Arsenal have won just 1 of the last 6 meetings between these rivals.
Prediction
There will be plenty of people stating that the Community Shield is the chance to lay down a marker for the season ahead, but the winner of this trophy have struggled to back that up.
Despite being a fixture between the League Champions and FA Cup Winners from the previous campaign, none of the last seven winners of the Community Shield have gone on to win the title in the upcoming season.
The Premier League Champions have also been struggling in recent years with only 1 of the last 6 Community Shields won by the team that entered as Champions.
Arsenal and Manchester City are both still welcoming back some important players after the exploits at the World Cup Finals and this is a fixture where both Mikel Arteta and Enzo Maresca are likely to ring the changes.
Both will have a real focus on making sure the respective clubs are ready for the opening weekend of the Premier League season next week and there is still a feeling around this fixture of being a 'glorified friendly'.
It can sometimes play out that way and that has perhaps contributed to 6 of the last 9 Community Shield matches ending draws with Penalties to decide the winner.
That includes each of the last three seasons and games between Arsenal and Manchester City tend to be competitive.
Enzo Maresca's Chelsea also gave Arsenal plenty of stern examinations and there is every chance that we will need Penalties to decide the first piece of silverware of the season, even if both The Gunners and Manchester City will have eyes on much bigger prizes handed out in the months ahead.
The Pick :
Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City
