Premier League champions Arsenal face Manchester City in Sunday afternoon's FA Community Shield in Cardiff. The Gunners finally overcame their rivals to lift the league title for the first time in 22 years last season, whilst City beat Chelsea to claim the FA Cup before Pep Guardiola's summer exit.
However, winning the first trophy of the season may be more of a curse than a sign of things to come. Formerly named the Charity Shield, this fixture kicks off England's domestic top-flight campaign year after year. But fans hoping their team lifts the silverware should not pay too much attention to the outcome, as history shows it is a poor barometer of a team's success for the remainder of the season.
Only one winner in the last decade lifted the league title
Only one team - City in 2018/19 - have gone on to win the Premier League after lifting the Community Shield in its last 10 editions. Only four of those 10 sides have won any additional silverware in the same campaign.
That won't stop Maresca and Arteta from wanting to claim the shield and send a message to the other, however. City and Arsenal are the only teams to have won it three times in the past decade. Incredibly, penalties have decided six of the last 10 victors, meaning fans should expect a cagey affair as the two sides lack full match sharpness.
A look back at the last ten winners
2025 - Crystal Palace: Palace claimed their first-ever Community Shield by beating Liverpool 3–2 on penalties after a 2–2 draw at Wembley Stadium. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a penalty and Ismaila Sarr struck late for Palace, whilst Reds debutants Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong netted for Liverpool before the game was decided by a shootout. Oliver Glasner's side went on to have an underwhelming domestic campaign after key players departed, finishing 15th in the Premier League. However, they capped off an unforgettable season in Europe by lifting the UEFA Conference League trophy - the first European trophy in the club's history.
2024 - Manchester City: Manchester City defeated bitter rivals Manchester United 7–6 in a penalty shootout following a 1–1 draw at Wembley in 2024. Alejandro Garnacho gave United the lead in the 82nd minute before Bernardo Silva headed home an 89th-minute equaliser to force the shootout. Making hard work of a poor United side proved to be a sign of things to come, as Pep Guardiola's men finished third in the Premier League in 2024/25, whilst Liverpool reclaimed the league title. City reached the FA Cup final but lost 1-0 to a well-drilled Palace, meaning the Community Shield proved to be their only piece of silverware for the campaign.
2023 - Arsenal: Arsenal lifted the trophy by beating Manchester City 4–1 on penalties following a 1–1 draw in normal time. Cole Palmer opened the scoring for City in the 77th minute before Leandro Trossard forced penalties with a deflected equaliser in the 101st. The shootout triumph sent the message to City that Arsenal would be serious title challengers again. Mikel Arteta's side pushed Manchester City to the final day in the 2023/24 Premier League title race, ultimately finishing as runners-up with 89 points. Despite their strong league display, the Gunners failed to add any major trophies to their collection that season.
2022 - Liverpool: Liverpool secured a 3–1 victory over Manchester City at the King Power Stadium to clinch their 16th Community Shield. Trent Alexander-Arnold opened the scoring, Mohamed Salah converted a penalty and debutant Darwin Nunez sealed the win late on, with Julian Alvarez scoring City's only goal. However, Jurgen Klopp's men suffered their worst season in several years, finishing fifth in the Premier League due to inconsistent form and missing out on Champions League qualification. They failed to win any additional silverware, exiting early in both domestic cups and the Champions League.
2021 - Leicester City: FA Cup winners Leicester City unexpectedly beat Premier League champions Manchester City 1–0 to win the Community Shield for the second time in their history five years ago. Leicester's Kelechi Iheanacho scored the match-winning penalty against his former club in the 89th minute after being brought down by Nathan Ake. The Foxes under Brendan Rodgers went on to have a solid Premier League campaign, finishing eighth. They failed to capture further domestic silverware, but did enjoy a run to the semi-finals of the inaugural Europa Conference League, marking a successful season overall.
2020 - Arsenal: FA Cup winners Arsenal defeated Premier League champions Liverpool 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw at an empty Wembley Stadium. Fans were not in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions and this 2020 trophy marked Arteta's second piece of silverware as a manager in his first year in charge. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang curled in the opening goal for Arsenal before Takumi Minamino equalised for Liverpool in the second half. However, Arteta's men struggled for domestic momentum, finishing eighth in the Premier League for a second consecutive year. They ended the season without any additional silverware after being eliminated in the Europa League semi-finals.
2019 - Manchester City: Manchester City triumphed over Liverpool 5–4 in a penalty shootout at the end of a 1–1 draw in 2019. Raheem Sterling scored against his former club in the 12th minute before Joel Matip headed home a late second-half equaliser for the Reds. Yet, City went on to surrender their Premier League crown to Liverpool, finishing as distant runners-up in the top flight during the COVID-19-affected season. Guardiola's side salvaged domestic silverware by winning the Carabao Cup for a third consecutive season with a 2–1 victory over Aston Villa just before the pandemic led to the postponement of all football.
2018 - Manchester City: Premier League centurions Manchester City beat FA Cup holders Chelsea 2–0 in a comfortable display at Wembley Stadium. Sergio Aguero grabbed headlines by scoring a goal in each half to surpass 200 total goals for the club. Guardiola's men went on to complete an unprecedented domestic treble by retaining the Premier League title with 98 points, with Liverpool finishing one point behind.
2017 - Arsenal: FA Cup holders Arsenal beat reigning Premier League champions Chelsea 4–1 on penalties following a 1–1 draw in normal time. Victor Moses gave Chelsea the lead early in the second half before Sead Kolasinac headed in a late equaliser after Pedro was sent off. Arsenal were notably poor in Arsene Wenger's final season in charge, finishing sixth in the Premier League. They reached the League Cup final but suffered a 3–0 defeat to Manchester City, ending the season without further silverware and marking rock bottom for the club during Wenger's reign. The Frenchman departed in April 2018.
2016 - Manchester United: Jose Mourinho's Manchester United claimed a 2–1 victory over Premier League champions Leicester City. Jesse Lingard scored a memorable solo opener before Jamie Vardy equalised, setting up Zlatan Ibrahimovic to head in an 83rd-minute winner on his competitive United debut. Under Mourinho, United finished sixth in the Premier League table but salvaged their season through knockout football. They secured a cup double by winning both the League Cup and the Europa League, clinching Champions League qualification.
