Arsenal began their season with a 3-0 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield in Cardiff, but history suggests the trophy could be a bad omen for their Premier League ambitions. Since 2018, no Community Shield winner has gone on to claim the top-flight title, a run spanning seven seasons.
A Decade of Disappointment
The last team to win both the Community Shield and the Premier League in the same year was Manchester City in 2018, when they beat Chelsea 2-0 after becoming the only side to register 100 Premier League points. That season, City went on to become the only English team to win the domestic treble.
Since then, the curtain raiser has proved a poisoned chalice. City won it again in 2019 but finished second to Liverpool, and repeated the feat in 2024 only to finish third after a mid-season wobble. Arsenal, under Mikel Arteta, won the 2020 Community Shield on penalties but could only finish eighth, losing eight of their first 14 league games.
Liverpool and Leicester's Struggles
Liverpool won the 2022 Community Shield off the back of FA Cup and Carabao Cup success, but Jurgen Klopp's side finished fifth and missed out on the Champions League. Leicester City, who won the trophy in 2021 after their FA Cup triumph, ended the season in eighth, a year before relegation. Crystal Palace, winners in 2025, finished 15th, with the success leading to Oliver Glasner's departure months later.
Arsenal's Title Favourites Status
Only one Community Shield winner since 2010 has gone on to win the league that year, a strike rate of just 6.25%. Arsenal, now almost even money with bookmakers, will look to end that jinx when they face newly promoted Coventry City in their opening Premier League match. With City, Chelsea and Liverpool all under new management, the Gunners may have a window of opportunity, though Manchester United still trail the champions by a notable margin.
