The FA Community Shield 2026 Arsenal vs Manchester City match ended in a 3-0 win for the Gunners on Sunday, August 16 at the Principality Stadium.
It was Enzo Maresca’s first match in charge of his new team, and he could not have begun on a worse note. Maresca won the Club World Cup with Chelsea in 2025, but his tenure ended on a sour note there.
Here are three things he should do to improve his team’s performance after the FA Community Shield 2026 defeat.
#1. Improve the Porous Defence
Riccardo Calafiori’s opening goal within a minute of the start of the FA Community Shield 2026 stunned the Manchester City defence, and they did very little to overcome the early shock. Every time Arsenal brought the ball to the penalty box, the Manchester City defence looked nervous.
It did not help that Arsenal played direct, high-energy football at times that was reminiscent of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Noni Madueke utilised the space left open by Nico O’Reilly, and it did not help that Gianluigi Donnarumma conceded the second goal a bit too easily.
If the Cityzens are to challenge seriously for the Premier League title, they will have to improve their defence. Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol looked distinctly average at times despite having men around them and defending deep.
It was not that the Man City defence was taken by surprise by Arsenal’s pace while playing with a high line. It was the simple inability to defend one’s penalty box well.
#2. Having a Ball-Carrying Midfielder in the Double-Pivot
The Cityzens started with Elliot Anderson and Mateo Kovacic in the double-pivot in the Arsenal vs Manchester City match.
While Elliot Anderson did his best to shield the defence as well as shift to the right to play crosses into the penalty box, the performance of Kovacic left a lot to be desired. There was hardly any run by the Croatian midfielder into the final third with the ball on his feet.
Rodri does the carrying of the ball so effortlessly at times for Manchester City, and the same was sorely missing from Kovacic in the Arsenal vs Manchester City match. It will be in Manchester City’s interest that Rodri stays at the club for another season at least.
As a result, the Cityzens only had Phil Foden with the ball in the final third most of the time, which was not adequate. The situation should improve once Rayan Cherki starts for them, but they need their defensive midfielders to carry the ball forward more often.
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#3. Attacking Through the Right After FA Community Shield 2026
Throughout the Arsenal vs Manchester City Community Shield fixture, Maresca’s side attacked through the left more often as long as Jeremy Doku was on the pitch, and Antoine Semenyo appeared to be an isolated figure at times.
With the right-back, Abdukodir Khusanov, hardly ever overlapping, Semenyo lacked support on the right side of the pitch.
The right-back has been an area of concern ever since Kyle Walker left Manchester City. Because of the lack of consistency from Rico Lewis, the Cityzens have had to depend on Matheus Nunes to play as a right-back. Nunes was not there on Sunday, and Khusanov looked every bit a centre-back, being compelled to play as the right-back.
After the FA Community Shield 2026 defeat, Maresca should be thinking more about his problems at right-back.
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