Arsenal vs Coventry City Preview

Arsenal host Coventry City at Emirates Stadium on Friday, 21st August 2026, as both sides open their Premier League campaigns.

Arsenal head into the new season on the back of a big Community Shield win. Their most recent outing was a 3-0 victory over Manchester City. Prior to that, they won a penalty shootout against Como, the match finishing 1-1 before Arsenal prevailed from the spot. Before that, they were beaten 3-2 at home by Dortmund. Earlier in this run, Arsenal were beaten 3-1 at home by Betis, and their sequence began with a 4-1 away win at Girona. Across these five matches, Arsenal have won three and lost two, with a comfortable win over City their most recent result.

Coventry City arrive full of confidence after an unbeaten pre-season. Their most recent outing was a 2-0 home win over Monaco. Prior to that, they beat Espanyol 3-1 at home. Before that, they drew 0-0 away at Northampton. Earlier in this run, Coventry won 4-0 away at Watford, and their sequence began with a 3-1 home win over Wrexham. Overall, Coventry have won four and drawn just once across their last five, remaining unbeaten heading into their return to the top flight.

The head-to-head record heavily favours Arsenal, who have won all five of the last five meetings, with no draws and no wins for Coventry. Most recently, Arsenal won 4-0 at home in the FA Cup. In the previous encounter, Arsenal won 6-1 at home in the EFL Cup. That dominant historical record gives Arsenal a huge psychological advantage heading into this opening-day meeting.

With the season yet to begin, both clubs currently sit level on zero points, zero goal difference and zero matches played, meaning Coventry’s return to the Premier League starts with a daunting trip to a club they have never beaten in the fixtures on record. Arsenal’s home form during their preparations has been strong, with only the Betis defeat blotting an otherwise positive record at the Emirates, while Coventry’s unbeaten pre-season run, built on wins over Espanyol and Monaco among others, suggests they will not be overawed by the step up in quality.

Arsenal’s attacking options, led by Gyokeres through the middle and supported by Ødegaard and Madueke, give them serious quality to break down a well-organised Coventry side. Coventry, for their part, have shown defensive solidity throughout their build-up, keeping a clean sheet against Monaco and conceding just once against Espanyol, and they will look to make life difficult for the hosts on their first afternoon back among the elite.

In Great Britain and Ireland, the match is live on Sky Go UK, NOW and Sky Sports Premier League. In the United States, viewers can catch the action on fuboTV, USA Network and Telemundo Deportes En Vivo. In Germany, the game is available on Sky Go and Sky Sport Premier League.

Possible Lineups

Arsenal (4-3-3)
Raya Martin, White, Mosquera, Gabriel Magalhães, Calafiori, Odegaard, Lewis-Skelly, Bruno Guimarães, Madueke, Gyokeres, Tzolis

Coventry City (4-3-3)
Rushworth, van Ewijk, Thomas, Amenda, Jay da Silva, Yirenkyi, Grimes, Onyeka, Tchaouna, Simms, Thomas-Asante

No injury information was included in the provided lineup images for either side ahead of this fixture.

Arsenal Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	Arsenal	3-0	Manchester City	CS	16.08.26
✅	Arsenal	1(4)-1(3)	Como	CF Pen	12.08.26
❌	Arsenal	2-3	Dortmund	EMI	09.08.26
❌	Arsenal	1-3	Betis	CF	05.08.26
✅	Girona	1-4	Arsenal	CF	01.08.26

Coventry City Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	Coventry	2-0	Monaco	CF	14.08.26
✅	Coventry	3-1	Espanyol	CF	08.08.26
🤝	Northampton	0-0	Coventry	CF	18.07.26
✅	Watford	0-4	Coventry	CHA	02.05.26
✅	Coventry	3-1	Wrexham	CHA	26.04.26

Head-to-Head

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
Arsenal	4-0	Coventry	FAC	24.01.14
Arsenal	6-1	Coventry	EFL	26.09.12
Coventry	0-1	Arsenal	PL	03.02.01
Arsenal	2-1	Coventry	PL	16.09.00
Arsenal	3-0	Coventry	PL	26.03.00

TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Great Britain	Sky Go UK, NOW, SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League
Ireland Republic	Sky Go UK, NOW, SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League
USA	fuboTV, USA Network, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, UNIVERSO, UNIVERSO NOW
Germany	Sky Go, WOW, Sky Sport UHD, Sky Sport Premier League
Spain	DAZN Spain, DAZN1 Spain, Movistar+
France	Canal+ France, Canal+ Foot, myCANAL
Australia	Stan Sport
Canada	DAZN Canada, fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada
Portugal	DAZN1 Portugal, DAZN Portugal
Japan	U-NEXT

POS.	TEAM	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	P
1	Arsenal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Aston Villa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Chelsea	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Everton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Fulham	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Liverpool	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Manchester City	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Manchester United	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Newcastle United	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Sunderland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	Tottenham Hotspur	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Coventry City	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	Crystal Palace	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	Hull City	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	Ipswich Town	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	AFC Bournemouth	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	Leeds United	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	Nottingham Forest	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	Brentford	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0