Arsenal Dominates Manchester City 3-0 in Community Shield
Arsenal picked up exactly where they left off.
Mikel Arteta’s side brushed aside Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday, delivering an early statement and another piece of silverware. Goals from Riccardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard sealed the club’s 18th triumph in the curtain-raiser – and handed Enzo Maresca a bruising first competitive game as City head coach.
Blitz start in Cardiff
The tone was set almost immediately.
Inside the first minute, Myles Lewis-Skelly drove a low ball across the box and Calafiori, alive to the chance, swept it home. One minute gone, Arsenal in front, City rocked.
From there, Arsenal played with the assurance of a team that finished last season believing they belong at the top. Havertz stretched the lead before the interval, capping a sharp first-half display with the second goal to put clear daylight between the sides.
Any hope of a City response after the break vanished almost as soon as the teams re-emerged. Three minutes into the second half, Odegaard glided past Josko Gvardiol and then Gianluigi Donnarumma before adding a composed third. The captain, who dictated the tempo throughout, walked away with the player-of-the-match award and the game long since decided.
For Maresca, it was a harsh introduction. For Arsenal, it felt like a continuation of a rising arc.
They now head back to the Emirates Stadium for Friday’s Premier League opener against newly promoted Coventry City with momentum, confidence and a trophy already in the cabinet.
Arsenal push on with off-pitch rebuild
While the first team sets the pace on the pitch, the work behind the scenes is just as aggressive.
Sky reporter Patrick Berger says Arsenal have formally registered their interest in Borussia Dortmund chief scout Sebastian Krug and already made initial contact over a potential move. Sky Germany reports that talks between the parties have taken place in London, with Arsenal joining Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United in the group of Premier League clubs keen on the Dortmund talent spotter.
Krug has spent close to a decade at Dortmund and sits at the heart of some of the Bundesliga club’s most lucrative deals. He played a major role in identifying and bringing in Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland – signings that later produced huge transfer windfalls for Dortmund and underlined the club’s reputation as a trading powerhouse.
Since 2022, Krug has held the title of chief scout, a role he has shared with Laurent Busser since November 2024. His current contract runs until 2028, a significant obstacle for any suitor and a reminder that Dortmund still hold the strongest hand in any negotiation.
If Arsenal decide to push ahead and strike an agreement, Krug would become another key piece in a recruitment structure that has already underpinned a strong summer of first-team strengthening. Any deal, though, would require Dortmund’s consent, with years left on his existing terms.
On the pitch, Arsenal have landed an early blow. Off it, they are trying to hire the man who helped find Bellingham and Haaland.
The question now is simple: how far can a club go when the football and the talent factory are both built to win?
