Arsenal’s Community Shield meeting with Manchester City will take place away from Wembley Stadium because of changes to the football calendar and pre-planned concerts.
Mikel Arteta’s Premier League champions will instead travel to Cardiff for the traditional season curtain-raiser.
The Principality Stadium will host the fixture on Sunday 16 August, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm. TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max will show the game live in the United Kingdom.
Arsenal qualified after winning their first Premier League title in more than two decades. Manchester City secured their place by beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
The match will also be Enzo Maresca’s first competitive fixture as City head coach. Maresca replaced Pep Guardiola following his departure at the end of last season.
Why Arsenal Community Shield clash moved to Cardiff
The Premier League calendar has been pushed back following the extended World Cup schedule. The 2026/27 league campaign will begin during the weekend of Saturday 22 August.
Wembley is unavailable on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August because concerts had already been arranged for those dates. The Football Association therefore selected the Principality Stadium as a large neutral venue.
The FA confirmed the venue change and noted Cardiff’s history of staging major football matches. The stadium hosted the Community Shield six times between 2001 and 2006 while Wembley was being rebuilt.
Arsenal supporters have already been informed of ticketing arrangements for the Cardiff fixture. The game will be Arteta’s final competitive preparation before the club begins its Premier League title defence.
Arsenal’s summer schedule builds towards the Manchester City meeting, with matches against Girona, Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund planned before the trip to Wales.
Arteta previously led Arsenal to Community Shield victories over Liverpool and City. Another success would provide early silverware before the Gunners begin their attempt to retain the Premier League title.
