Arsenal v Manchester City: Community Shield Prediction

What could be better than kicking off the season at Wembley with a match between last season’s top two teams in the Premier League? Not much, as far as we’re concerned. That’s why we’re in for a treat this Sunday afternoon, with Arsenal taking on Manchester City in the battle for the Community Shield. Will reigning champions Arsenal go on to win the next trophy straight away? Or will it be Enzo Maresca, the new manager of FA Cup winners Manchester City, who lifts his first trophy of the season? Here’s our Arsenal v Manchester City prediction.

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Arsenal v Manchester City preview

We’re eagerly looking forward to what looks set to be a fantastic match in what is perhaps the most beautiful stadium in the world. Will we see some new signings straight away? We’ll give you a brief overview of both Arsenal and Manchester City.

Current Form & Team News

Arsenal

Will Mikel Arteta manage to match the success of the 2025–2026 season with ‘his’ Arsenal? Having won the first English league title in over 20 years and reached the final of the Champions League, that seems like a tall order. Nevertheless, the squad still bears a striking resemblance to last year’s successful team. Leandro Trossard moved to Besiktas in Turkey, whilst Bruno Guimarães joined from Newcastle United for a fee of €87,500,000.

It’s a sad but true fact that Jurriën Timber is still injured and looks set to be out for a few more weeks. As a result, we won’t be seeing any Dutch players in action for the English champions.

Manchester City

Arsenal’s opponents are Manchester City, the only team that managed to keep up with Arsenal to any extent last year. The Citizens have also had an interesting summer, with Pep Guardiola leaving the club after a very long spell. He was succeeded by Enzo Maresca, meaning the Italian will be aiming to bring the title back to the blue half of Manchester.

There have also been a number of interesting developments in the transfer market. Bernardo Silva left on a free transfer to Real Madrid, whilst it remains to be seen whether Tijjani Reijnders will still be playing for the Sky Blues on 2 September. In addition, Elliot Anderson was signed from Nottingham Forest for the staggering sum of €135,000,000. Could he be the successor to Rodri, the former Ballon d’Or winner who is highly likely to move to La Liga?

Head-to-Head

The two sides have been fairly evenly matched in recent years. Last season, both teams managed to win one match in the Premier League, whilst Manchester City did win the League Cup at the expense of the Gunners. Arsenal will no doubt draw a lot of hope from their 5–1 victory in February 2025. Looking at matches played on neutral ground, the Citizens seem to have the upper hand.

Predicted line-ups

Arsenal (4-2-3-1):

Raya, Hincapie, Gabriel, Salmon, White, Eze, Bruno Guimarães, Martinelli, Odegaard, Saka, Gabriel Jesus

Manchester City (4-2-3-1):

Donnarruma, Gvardiol, Vitor Reis, Dias, Nunes, Anderson, Kovacic, Semenyo, Foden, Savinho, Haaland

Arsenal v Manchester City betting tips

Betting tip 1: Erling Haaland to score

Naturally, most eyes at Manchester City will once again be on Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker had an excellent World Cup, but at the same time was due for a bit of a rest. He’ll be back on top form for the match against Arsenal, especially as he always manages to score against the North London side. Indeed, he has done so in four of the last five league matches. We reckon he’ll do it again. A goal from Erling Haaland in the Community Shield will earn you odds of 2.60.

Betting tip 2: Both teams to score – YES

We reckon both Arsenal and Manchester City will find the net. Both the Manchester and London sides boast world-class strikers, making this a fairly obvious bet. Also because this bet has come in four of the last five head-to-head matches. Both teams to score – YES gives you odds of 1.67.

Prediction: Arsenal v Manchester City

Final score: Arsenal 2–1 Manchester City
We think Arsenal will come out on top in this match. Last season, they proved they can rise to the occasion when it counts, whereas Manchester City have yet to prove themselves under their new manager. For that reason, we expect Arsenal to be the favourites.