So here we are on the edge of the new season, but with over a couple of weeks to go in the transfer window, and journalists with no new ideas can start dusting down phrases such as “it seems like only yesterday that Arsenal won the league…” Which I suppose reflects just how exciting or dull a summer each journo has had. Where I am it remains very hot, but after today it starts getting cooler, and I think that is so in lots of places in the UK.
As for the much more important issue, Arsenal have this one pre-season game left: the Community Shield which used to be called the Charity Shield until the Charity Commission demanded to see the FA’s licecne to use the word “Charity” in that context, and the FA admitted that for the last sixty years it had been flagrantly breaking the charity laws in the UK by gathering money using that word but not keeping proper records of who the money went to.
But then the FA paid a fine, and changed the name of the opening match, which happens on Sunday 16th in Cardiff against Manchester City: and so now we have the Community Shield, after which football proper starts with a home game against Coventry on Sunday 16th.
This will be the tenth time this century that Arsenal have played in this pre-season match, and thus far Arsenal have won seven and lost two.
In fact, those two defeats came near the start of the run, losing on a penalty shoot-out to Manchester United after a 1-1 draw in 2003 and losing 2-1 to Chelsea in 2005. However, Arsenal did win the 2003 final in between those two with a penalty shoot-out win over Manchester United in 2003.
Arsenal then went over to using all their cash to pay for the new stadium and didn’t return to the Shield games until 2014, in which year they started a run of three Shield games in four years, beating Manchester City 3-0, Chelsea 1-0, and Chelsea again in 2017, 4-1 in the penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw.
Since 2017, Arsenal have only appeared in the Shield games twice, beating Liverpool in 2020 on penalties and Manchester City in 2023 again on penalties. In 2024, Manchester City beat Manchester United, and in 2025, Crystal Palace beat Liverpool.
In terms of wins, Arsenal are second in the table with 17 Shield victories, beaten only by Manchester United, who have 21.
However, this season there will be a bit of a problem for some since the game is only being shown on TNT, as part of their final season with Englsih football before bowing out. I am told, however, you can also catch it on the HBO Max App and website.
William Saliba and Jurrien Timber are, of course, both out through injury, and so the suggestion is being made that Cristhian Mosquera is likely to play alongside Gabriel at centre-back, with Marli Salmon on the bench.
Four of the last six Community Shield matches have ended with a penalty shoot-out so that looks like a possible ending to this match.
Here is the table of results so far, as prepared by the ever-helpful Wikipedia
| Club | Wins | Last Win | Defeats | Last loss | Total Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester U | 21 | 2016 | 10 | 2024 | 31 |
| Arsenal | 17 | 2023 | 7 | 2005 | 24 |
| Liverpool | 16 | 2022 | 9 | 2025 | 25 |
| Everton | 9 | 1995 | 2 | 1966 | 11 |
| Manchester City | 7 | 2024 | 9 | 2023 | 16 |
| Tottenham Hot | 7 | 1991 | 2 | 1982 | 9 |
Perhaps the darkest moment for the game came with the Charity Commissiion pointed out to the FA that it did not have permission to call the game the Charity Shield. This arose in 2002 after the Charity Commission for England and Wales ruled that the Football Association had not met its obligations in providing details of how it used the money made from the match each year. The match was renamed, and Arsenal won the first game under the new name, beating Liverpool. But it was another embarrassing pointer to the arrogance of the FA, who persistently seem to think that rules do not apply to them.
