Arsenal began the 2026-27 campaign with a 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield, lifting the first major title of the new season. However, the result also underlined how unusual it has been for a team to win the traditional curtain-raiser and go on to claim the Premier League in the same season.
Since the 2011-12 campaign, Manchester City are the only side to have achieved that feat. They won the Community Shield and then secured the Premier League title in the 2018-19 season.
Arsenal entered the 2026 Community Shield as the reigning Premier League champions and strengthened their position in the fixture with a decisive 3-0 success against Manchester City. The victory gave them their first piece of silverware of the new season, while City were left to reflect on a statistic that has remained unchanged since 2018-19.
The Community Shield is traditionally played at the start of the domestic campaign between the previous season’s Premier League champions and FA Cup winners. Although the match is regarded as an important opening contest, recent history shows that success in the fixture has rarely been followed by another Premier League title.
Manchester City’s achievement in 2018-19 remains the only example from the period beginning with the 2011-12 season. Their success means they are still the sole club to have won both competitions in the same campaign during that span.
Arsenal’s three-goal victory therefore provides them with an early trophy, but the historical record offers a note of caution. Winning the Community Shield has not, in recent seasons, guaranteed that the same team will finish the campaign as Premier League champions.
The 2026 final also marked the first competitive meeting between the two clubs of the new season, with Arsenal taking advantage of the occasion to record a clear victory over Manchester City. As reigning league champions, they had already established themselves as the team to beat domestically; the Community Shield triumph adds further recognition at the beginning of their title defence.
Manchester City’s 2018-19 double remains the benchmark. No other club has matched it since the start of the 2011-12 season, and Arsenal will now hope to become the next side to do so after their emphatic opening win.
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