Arsenal vs Manchester City Preview

Arsenal face Manchester City at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday, 16th August 2026, in the traditional season curtain-raiser between last season’s Premier League and FA Cup winners.

Arsenal’s pre-season has been a mixed bag. Their most recent outing was a penalty shootout win over Como, the match finishing 1-1 before Arsenal prevailed from the spot. Prior to that, they were beaten 3-2 at home by Dortmund. Before that, they lost 3-1 at home to Betis. Earlier in this run, Arsenal won 4-1 away at Girona, and their sequence began with a penalty shootout defeat to PSG in the Champions League, also finishing 1-1 before PSG won from the spot. Across these five matches, Arsenal have won two and lost three, with a shootout win their most recent result.

Manchester City’s form has been similarly inconsistent. Their most recent outing was a 3-1 away win over Atl. Madrid. Prior to that, they won 3-1 away against K-League Stars. Before that, they lost on penalties to Inter after a 1-1 home draw. Earlier in this run, City were beaten 2-1 at home by Aston Villa, and their sequence began with a 1-1 away draw at Bournemouth. Overall, City have won two, drawn one and lost two across their last five, with the most recent result a comfortable win in Asia.

The head-to-head record favours Manchester City, who have won two of the last five meetings, with two draws and one win for Arsenal. Most recently, City won 2-1 at home. In the previous encounter, City won 2-0 away in the EFL Cup. With City holding a slight edge in recent meetings, this curtain-raiser offers Arsenal an early chance to assert themselves over their title rivals.

Both sides head into the new season with attacking talent at the forefront, with Arsenal’s front line built around Havertz, Saka and Madueke, while City will lean on Haaland’s goalscoring alongside the creativity of Cherki and Foden. Defensively, both squads have shown occasional lapses over the summer, with Arsenal conceding three against Dortmund and Betis, and City shipping goals in their defeats to Inter and Aston Villa, suggesting an entertaining and open contest in Cardiff.

Arsenal’s away form has been a highlight of their pre-season, with the win at Girona standing out, while City’s win over K-League Stars showed they retain the ability to produce big scorelines even during a mixed run. With both managers likely to field close to full-strength sides for the season’s first piece of silverware, this promises to be a competitive occasion at a national stadium neither club calls home.

In Great Britain, the match is live on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate, with streaming via HBO Max and radio coverage on TalkSport Radio UK and BBC Radio 5 Live. In Ireland, the same TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max coverage applies. In the United States, viewers can catch the action on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and fuboTV.

Possible Lineups

Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Raya, White, Mosquera, Gabriel Magalhães, Hincapié, Rice, Ødegaard, Saka, Merino, Madueke, Havertz

Manchester City (4-3-3) Donnarumma, O’Reilly, Guéhi, Dias, Nunes, Foden, Cherki, Kovačič, Doku, Haaland, Semenyo

Arsenal Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	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
❌	PSG	1(4)-1(3)	Arsenal	CL Pen	30.05.26

Manchester City Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	Manchester City	3-1	Atl. Madrid	CF	09.08.26
✅	K-League Stars	1-3	Manchester City	CF	05.08.26
❌	Manchester City	1(1)-1(3)	Inter	CF Pen	01.08.26
❌	Manchester City	1-2	Aston Villa	PL	24.05.26
🤝	Bournemouth	1-1	Manchester City	PL	19.05.26

Head-to-Head

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
Manchester City	2-1	Arsenal	PL	19.04.26
Arsenal	0-2	Manchester City	EFL	22.03.26
Arsenal	1-1	Manchester City	PL	21.09.25
Arsenal	5-1	Manchester City	PL	02.02.25
Manchester City	2-2	Arsenal	PL	22.09.24

TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Great Britain	TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate, HBO Max, TalkSport Radio UK, BBC Radio 5 Live
Ireland Republic	TNT Sports 1, HBO Max, TalkSport Radio UK, BBC Radio 5 Live
USA	ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Select, fuboTV, ESPN App
Germany	DAZN Germany, DAZN1 Germany
Italy	DAZN Italia, Nove TV
Spain	Movistar+, Movistar Liga de Campeones, Vamos, Movistar Plus+
Australia	Stan Sport
Canada	Sportsnet World, Sportsnet Plus
Poland	TVP Sport, Canal+
Portugal	Sport TV3, Sport TV Multiscreen