The Community Shield traditionally features two teams expected to be in the running for the Premier League title in the upcoming season.
The current champions, Arsenal, will clash with FA Cup holders Manchester City at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff this Sunday.
But what does the statistics say about whether a victory in the Welsh capital guarantees a fruitful season? And how do the goalscorers fare afterwards?
Do Community Shield winners go on to win the Premier League?
Interestingly, considering that the reigning league champions play in this match every year, Community Shield winners surprisingly seldom claim the title at the end of the season.
Since the Premier League's inception in the 1992/93 season, only 8 out of 34 winners of the trophy have managed to secure the championship. Five of those instances occurred in a remarkable six-year span from 2005 to 2010.
The last time it was achieved was by Manchester City in 2019, before that, Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United last did so in 2011.
In fact, only one of the last 15 Community Shield winners has gone on to become champions in the same season.
Since 1992, teams that have lost in the Community Shield have won the league title more often—10 times. Among them is Manchester City, who captured the championship three years in a row from 2021 to 2023 despite losing their opening matches.
Last season, Crystal Palace defeated Liverpool in the Community Shield but ended up finishing just 15th in the Premier League (though they did win the Europa Conference League). The Reds also had a disappointing domestic campaign, finishing in fifth place. More statistics regarding past finals can be found below.
| Season | Winner | Qualification | Final Standing | Runner-up | Qualification | Final Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | Man Utd | Champions | 2nd | Manchester City | FA Cup Winners | 1st |
| 2012-13 | Manchester City | Champions | 2nd | Chelsea | FA Cup Winners | 3rd |
| 2013-14 | Man Utd | Champions | 7th | Wigan | FA Cup Winners | 5th (Championship) |
| 2014-15 | Arsenal | FA Cup Winners | 3rd | Manchester City | Champions | 2nd |
| 2015-16 | Arsenal | FA Cup Winners | 2nd | Chelsea | Champions | 10th |
| 2016-17 | Man Utd | FA Cup Winners | 6th | Lester | Champions | 12th |
| 2017-18 | Arsenal | FA Cup Winners | 6th | Chelsea | Champions | 5th |
| 2018-19 | Manchester City | Champions | 1st | Chelsea | FA Cup Winners | 3rd |
| 2019-20 | Manchester City | Champions | 2nd | Liverpool | Runners-up | 1st |
| 2020-21 | Arsenal | FA Cup Winners | 8th | Liverpool | Champions | 3rd |
| 2021-22 | Lester | FA Cup Winners | 8th | Manchester City | Champions | 1st |
| 2022-23 | Liverpool | FA Cup Winners | 5th | Manchester City | Champions | 1st |
| 2023-24 | Arsenal | Runners-up | 2nd | Manchester City | Champions | 1st |
| 2024-25 | Manchester City | Champions | 3rd | Man Utd | FA Cup Winners | 15th |
| 2025-26 | Crystal Palace | FA Cup Winners | 15th | Liverpool | Champions | 5th |
Interestingly, in 47% of cases (16 out of 34), the future Premier League winner did not even participate in the Community Shield, as Arsenal did in the 2025/26 season.
However, in 53% of cases (18 out of 34), Community Shield holders finished the league higher than their losing counterparts. On ten occasions, both teams finished in the top two, where four times the Community Shield winner was crowned champion and the loser ended up second.
How often do Premier League champions win the Community Shield?
Another important question is how frequently the Community Shield is claimed by the team that won the Premier League in the previous season.
The answer is 18 out of 34 times (the same 53%).
However, this has become less common in recent years. Including Crystal Palace's triumph, FA Cup winners have captured 8 out of the last 12 Community Shields, whereas this occurred just five times in the previous 22 editions.
Moreover, on three occasions during the Premier League era, the Community Shield has been awarded to neither the champion nor the cup winner. Arsenal (in 1999 and 2023) and Manchester United (in 2010) faced off with the winning team making a 'double'.
Do goalscorers in the Community Shield have successful seasons?
The results here are quite mixed.
Goalscorers from Crystal Palace in 2025, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaïla Sarr, scored a combined 37 goals that season.
Yugo Ekitike bagged his first of 17 goals in his debut season with Liverpool, while Jeremy Frimpong failed to make his mark following his scored strike.
In 2023, Cole Palmer scored for Manchester City against Arsenal (in that match, City lost on penalties after Leandro Trossard's last-minute equaliser). Palmer later went on to score 22 goals in the Premier League and was named Young Player of the Season... but he did that in the colours of Chelsea, having moved for £42.5 million.
The previous year, Darwin Nunez scored in his debut match for Liverpool, whereas Erling Haaland found no joy in front of goal. This sparked heated debates, with Nunez labelled the more promising player. However, by season's end, everything fell into place: Haaland netted a staggering 52 goals, while Nunez managed merely 15.
Kelechi Iheanacho only found the net four times in the Premier League after scoring in the 2021 Community Shield.
Conversely, Raheem Sterling's goal for Manchester City against his former club Liverpool in 2019 heralded the start of the most prolific season of his career with 31 goals.
