Arsenal vs Man City LIVE
Arsenal vs Manchester City LIVE
The first silverware of the season is up for grabs this afternoon as Arsenal and Manchester City face off in the 2026 Community Shield. A summer of pre-season football is now a thing of the past, with the 2026/27 campaign getting underway in earnest with its traditional curtain-raiser. After a series of uninspiring friendlies, Arsenal are now expected to show their hand ahead of a first Premier League title defence since 2004/05.
City, meanwhile, have a new manager in the dugout in Enzo Maresca, who will be keen to show he has what it takes to follow the example set by Pep Guardiola over the past decade. The Community Shield has featured City in four of its last six editions, but the Manchester side do not tend to perform in this competition. They have won only seven of their 16 appearances in it.
Expect a number of competitive debuts for both sides, with Arsenal expected to utilise Christos Tzolis and Bruno Guimaraes opposite Elliot Anderson. Follow the action LIVE below with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis from Dom Smith at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Arsenal vs Man City latest news
Live updates
Arsenal early team news: Early season injury worries
Bruno Guimaraes is in line to make his competitive Arsenal debut today after featuring as a substitute in the final pre-season friendly against Como on Wednesday evening.
Arteta has a decision to make in defence with William Saliba and Jurrien Timber both sidelined through injury. Cristhian Mosquera is the favourite to partner Gabriel at centre-back, but youngster Marli Salmon has impressed in pre-season.
Myles Lewis-Skelly is poised to start in midfield, likely alongside captain Martin Odegaard as Kai Havertz moves into a more familiar centre-forward role.
Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Zubimendi are all set to return to the squad, though they are unlikely to start having not played a single minute of pre-season due to their World Cup exploits.
Back in the fold: Bukayo Saka
How to watch the Community Shield
TV channel: In the UK, the 2026 Community Shield contest between Arsenal and Manchester City is being televised live on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate, with coverage beginning at 2pm BST ahead of a 3pm kick-off in Cardiff.
Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers can also watch the game live online via the HBO Max app and website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action with Standard Sport’s live blog, featuring analysis from Dom Smith at the Principality Stadium. That’s this one. You’re in the right place. Don’t go anywhere.
Good afternoon
Hello, and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Arsenal vs Manchester City in the 2026 Community Shield!
After a long summer of pre-season, competitive club football is finally back. We can all breathe a sigh of relief. Will the Gunners add more silverware to their cabinet on the first day of the season, or will Enzo Maresca make a winning start to his new job?
All will be revealed, with kick-off pencilled in for 3pm.
Dom Smith is at the Principality Stadium to bring you all the updates. Stick with us!