Manchester City Faces Challenge as Arsenal Shines in Community Shield

Manchester City’s aura of inevitability took a dent in Cardiff – and the bookmakers reacted faster than anyone.

Arsenal, already defending champions, ripped through City 3-0 in the Community Shield, a scoreline that felt less like a curtain-raiser and more like a statement. On the same weekend came confirmation that Rodri, the metronome of City’s midfield and a star of the 2026 World Cup, is off to Barcelona. For Enzo Maresca, stepping into the long shadow of Pep Guardiola, the transition suddenly looks a lot less theoretical and a lot more urgent.

The markets have moved with the mood. Arsenal’s commanding display saw some firms trim the Gunners from 6-4 to 5-4 for the title. City, who still arrive off the back of an EFL Cup and FA Cup double and a second-place league finish, drifted from 11-2 to 7-2. Liverpool sit at 6-1, Chelsea and Manchester United at 8-1, Tottenham at 28-1, Aston Villa out at 66-1.

Not so long ago, nobody wanted to bet against City. Two years back, our panel could barely imagine anyone stopping them making it five titles on the spin. Last year, after Liverpool’s shock triumph in Arne Slot’s first season and the spending spree that followed, the same certainty attached itself to Anfield. They collapsed to fifth and Slot was gone at the end of year two. This time there’s no stampede towards Arsenal, but among our fan-pundits, nobody is dismissing them either.

Christine can claim the bragging rights from last season. A Liverpool supporter who dared to suggest her club might not win the 2026 title, she hedged between first and fourth. None of our four Manchester United fans even backed a top-four finish for their side; Niall, unprompted, went for fifth – a call that looks smarter now we’ve shifted to a top-five prediction format. I had United second behind my own Liverpool, and pushed Aston Villa into third. Only John also saw Villa as a top-four side. This year, we’ve even recruited a bona fide Villa fan, Dave, to keep us honest.

My own wildcard, Nottingham Forest in fourth, never quite caught fire, but John lays out a fresh case for them below. It’s part of the reason we’ve embraced the top-five system – the league’s unofficial “Big Six” has quietly swollen into a seven-strong gauntlet: Arsenal, City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Villa and Spurs. The odds at the top of the market tell the same story.

Two seasons ago, Scott and a couple of others nailed the identity of the top four, if not the exact order. Nobody managed it last year, largely because Chelsea featured in almost every list and promptly finished 10th.

I expect a very different Chelsea in 2026-27. With Arsenal blazing a trail, London looks ready to dominate the upper reaches again. My five? 1. Chelsea 2. Arsenal 3. Liverpool 4. Tottenham 5. Brentford.

One voice is missing from this year’s debate. Our boxing columnist Jay, dealing with a serious family situation back home in Zambia, couldn’t file his thoughts on Manchester City. He sends his apologies.

What follows is the view from the terraces – and couches – across England and beyond.

Leeds, Everton and an old-school Premier League

PAUL GALLIGAN, LABOR ATTORNEY, LEEDS UNITED

Leeds survived. In this Premier League, that alone counts as an achievement. With Coventry joining Leeds and Sunderland in the top flight, the division suddenly has an old-school feel, a throwback in name if not in finances.

Galligan sees Leeds doing more than just hanging on. With James Trafford, Tarik Muharemović and Harry Wilson arriving, he believes they can push into solid mid-table and maybe even sniff Europe, if a reliable goal scorer appears. The caveat is depth; the squad still looks thin.

At the top, he expects familiar faces: Chelsea, Arsenal, City, United and “Pool” – in that order. The World Cup, he admits, was fun, the refereeing impressive, especially in the final. His wish for FIFA, though, remains scorched earth.

JAMES ROGERS, NEW YORK EVERTONIANS

Everton’s second season at the gleaming Hill Dickinson Stadium begins with a mix of hope and frustration. David Moyes must rouse a side that drifted through the final stretch last year, their European push disintegrating with just three points from the last seven games.

New signings Christian Nørgaard, Hayden Hackney and Brennan Johnson – the latter arriving in a swap that sent Dwight McNeil to Crystal Palace – offer fresh energy. Yet the fanbase is fixated on a missing right-back and transfixed by the constant noise around Iliman Ndiaye and the possibility of Jack Grealish returning in royal blue.

Ndiaye’s World Cup cameo against Iraq reminded everyone of his talent. Grealish, superb before injury ended his season and World Cup hopes, remains a sentimental focal point. James Garner, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and England No.1 Jordan Pickford, fresh from his heroics in the U.S. and Mexico, will shoulder much of the responsibility.

Evertonians, settled into their riverside home, now demand tangible progress. Rogers’ top five: 1. Man City 2. Arsenal 3. Man Utd 4. Liverpool 5. Chelsea.

Liverpool: post-Slot, post-Klopp, and post-Mo

CHRISTINE KINEALY, HISTORIAN, LIVERPOOL

Kinealy boycotted the World Cup in person, a small stand against corruption, but watched plenty from afar. Spain’s victory, led by possession football and featuring Víctor Muñoz – now a Liverpool player – softened the blow of backing France and seeing Scotland and Cabo Verde exit early.

Back on Merseyside, the Arne Slot era is already a short, jagged memory. Expensive signings, little cohesion, and a manager who ran out of answers when games fell apart. Andoni Iraola inherits the mess and a mandate: restore intensity, restore belief.

Early signs show a more direct, aggressive Liverpool. High pressing, zonal counter-pressing, a style that nods to Jürgen Klopp but adds its own tweaks. Pre-season has been uneven, but Iraola’s Premier League experience and late-window additions – Jeremy Jacquet, Víctor Muñoz, Ronald Araújo – give him tools, especially along the back line.

The emotional cost is heavy. Mo Salah and Andy Robertson, two modern symbols of the Kop, are gone. Jeff Bezos’s involvement at the club jars against the club’s self-image. Liverpool are in flux: new coach, new players, new owners. Kinealy still finds room for optimism, rooted in style and the intangible “Kop-Factor.” Her prediction: third place.

MICHAEL O’SULLIVAN, JESUIT PRIEST, LIVERPOOL

O’Sullivan watched less of the World Cup but enough to rail against the golden boot rules and argue Lionel Messi had a bigger impact than Rodri. He hopes Alexis Mac Allister carries his strong international form into a new season, and that Isak’s flashes for Sweden translate into consistent club output.

He sees Liverpool firmly in transition, short in key positions and hampered by long-term injuries to Ekiteke, Bradley and Leoni. He welcomed the managerial change – convinced the previous style held the team back – but urges patience for Iraola, who needs reinforcements and time.

He expects Spurs, his boyhood club in the Jimmy Greaves era, to surge, and predicts United will struggle to balance league and Champions League. Villa, he says, could fly if they start better. Arsenal’s corner routines, he suspects, won’t catch teams out so easily this time.

His top five: Man City, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Tottenham.

STEPHEN BOLAND, RETIRED UPS WORKER, LIVERPOOL

Boland never bought into Slot’s attempted reinvention. To him, Liverpool’s brief success under the Dutchman came from riding Klopp’s blueprint. When Slot tried to impose his own, the football turned sterile and ineffective. Injuries – notably to Isak – didn’t help, and Florian Wirtz never truly settled. Salah, he felt, looked a shadow of himself.

He enjoyed the expanded World Cup more than expected, even as he bristled at Argentina’s approach and the Messi-centric coverage. Now, he’s relieved most Liverpool players avoided a draining summer and expects better cohesion as a result.

His top five: 1. Arsenal 2. Liverpool 3. Man City 4. Man United 5. Chelsea.

Spurs: from horror film to coherent plan

DOM STINGAS PACZKO, BURTON-ON-TRENT RESIDENT, TOTTENHAM

For Tottenham, last season felt like a horror movie. Thomas Frank’s tenure, which began with quiet optimism after Ange Postecoglou’s all-out chaos, quickly spiralled. By October, Paczko was warning his dad about relegation danger. The board, slow to act, only pulled the plug when Spurs were already in serious trouble. Igor Tudor’s brief interlude barely merits a footnote.

Then came the twist. Roberto De Zerbi arrived as the unlikely saviour. His impact was immediate: belief, front-foot football, and enough points to keep Spurs away from trips to Preston North End and Lincoln City.

The board, heavily criticised after Daniel Levy’s departure, has at least started to address structural failings. The wage structure has been overhauled, allowing Spurs to compete for higher-calibre signings, and transfer business – both in and out – looks sharper. Losing Cristian Romero and Djed Spence would once have sparked meltdown; now, with better recruitment, the mood is calmer.

Paczko still thinks they are two or three attacking signings short of a genuine top-four push, but for the first time in years, he sees a coherent plan off the pitch and real belief on it.

His top five, with a caveat: 1. Arsenal 2. Chelsea 3. Manchester City 4. Aston Villa 5. Tottenham – if those extra signings arrive. If not, he hands fifth to Manchester United.

Arsenal: champions with room to spare

SCOTT SILVER, FREELANCE DESIGNER, ARSENAL

Silver leans into the swagger. Arsenal, he says, “got the recipe correct” last year and can repeat the trick. Many Gunners impressed at the World Cup – “not you Havertz,” he jibes – and he expects that confidence to carry back into the league.

Gabriel Martinelli may be on his way out for £38m, but Silver isn’t panicking. With Bukayo Saka fit, Declan Rice among Europe’s elite midfielders, and Eberechi Eze, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard in support, he calls it “almost an embarrassment of riches.”

He didn’t gorge on the World Cup, beyond the USA matches and the final stages, but he saw enough to acknowledge Spain’s brilliance. Now his eyes are back on the Premier League.

His top five: 1. Arsenal 2. Man City 3. Liverpool 4. Man Utd 5. Chelsea.

Manchester United: Carrick, belief and a crowded chasing pack

JOE BEHAN, FLORIDA RESIDENT, MANCHESTER UNITED

Behan believes United can go all the way – as long as Michael Carrick stays put. Carrick, who left the club’s coaching staff in 2021 after a draining spell following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal, returned four years later and took over as manager mid-season. The impact was immediate.

Kobbie Mainoo and Benjamin Sesko came back into the side and, like the rest of the squad, hit form. United surged to third and Champions League qualification. Behan argues they played the best football in the league under Carrick, their finest since Sir Alex Ferguson.

His top five: Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Liverpool.

RAY O’HANLON, IRISH ECHO, MANCHESTER UNITED

For O’Hanlon, United’s story is one of shifting expectations. From mid-table mediocrity to the top four in a single season is impressive by any standard, but United live by different ones. Titles are the bar.

Carrick, calm and controlled, earned the right to stay after steadying the club post-Rúben Amorim. Pre-season has been encouraging – three wins, a draw and a loss – with a penalty shootout victory over Leeds United at a packed Croke Park adding theatre. The defeat came against AC Milan, now coached by Amorim, a result that will be pored over at Carrington.

Carrick wants more signings, including a possible marquee name to complement four summer arrivals, among them midfielder Andrey Santos from Chelsea. The academy, as ever, lurks as a potential source of stars.

Targets? The Premier League, first and foremost. Arsenal won’t give up their crown easily. United must also juggle Europe and the cups. The pressure starts immediately with newly promoted Hull City visiting Old Trafford.

O’Hanlon’s top five: 1. Arsenal 2. Manchester United 3. Liverpool 4. Aston Villa 5. Everton.

NIALL O’LEARY, ARCHITECT AND IRISH-DANCE TEACHER, MANCHESTER UNITED

O’Leary enjoyed the World Cup but has heard enough about “hydration breaks” to last a lifetime. He draws comfort from United’s limited involvement: fewer minutes, fresher legs.

He goes further than most. This, he insists, is United’s moment. Carrick has had a head start, appointed back in January – on his father’s birthday, he notes – while most rivals change managers and rip up systems. Arsenal, he argues, are unlikely to retain the title. City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs, all are adjusting.

His prediction: United to win a 14th Premier League title, with Marcus Rashford, now wearing No.14, as player of the season. His top five: Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea.

ANTHONY C. MURPHY, WRITER, MANCHESTER UNITED

Murphy’s focus is split between United and their players’ mixed World Cup fortunes. Bruno Fernandes, he feels, struggled to shine alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. Diogo Dalot barely featured. Uruguay and Manuel Ugarte offered little. Brazil flattered only briefly. Tyler Fletcher, he suspects, didn’t get off the bench.

He praises Noussair Mazraoui’s authority for Morocco, notes Rashford’s battle with Anthony Gordon for minutes with England, and hails Kobbie Mainoo as United’s best outfield player alongside Bruno, but underused. Lisandro Martínez, he says, emerged with credit from Argentina’s combustible final.

Amad Diallo, meanwhile, became Ivory Coast’s youngest scorer with goals against Ecuador and Norway. Murphy sees promise, but not certainty, in United’s season. Third place last year owed something, in his view, to other teams fading. New signings Santos, Orozco and Youri Tielemans add intrigue; Lemmens in goal veers between brilliance and calamity.

He predicts a top-five league finish, an early European exit, and possibly an FA Cup win. His top three: Arsenal, City, Liverpool – unless Rodri’s departure truly unravels City’s machine.

Newcastle, Villa and the new order

JOHN SPINKS, VISUAL ARTIST, NEWCASTLE UNITED

Spinks came out of the World Cup feeling like football had become a full-time job. While eyes were on the U.S., Newcastle were quietly dismantled. Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimarães – all gone, to Barcelona, Spurs and Arsenal.

Three weeks before hosting Liverpool on opening day, Eddie Howe walked away. In came German coach Matthias Jaissle, handpicked by the Saudi owners, bringing his own staff and ideas.

The squad is a hybrid now. The defence retains experience – Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall, Dan Burn, Lewis Miley, Malick Thiaw – to guide a wave of young arrivals. Goalkeeper Ivan Jaouen, 20 and 6ft 7in, arrives from Reims. Midfielders Bamba (from Monaco) and Steur (from Ajax) join Park Seung, the Korean youngster who blossomed last season. Most are 20 or under.

Off the pitch, the club mourns Kevin Keegan. His death hit Tyneside hard. The scarves, shirts and flowers outside St James’ Park told their own story. A further tribute is planned for the Liverpool game, adding emotional weight to an already charged afternoon.

Spinks’ prediction: 1. Man City 2. Man Utd 3. Arsenal 4. Villa 5. Sunderland – the last “for divilment.”

DAVE HANNIGAN, AUTHOR AND COLUMNIST, ASTON VILLA

Hannigan writes in the afterglow of the Super Cup, where 17-year-old Brian Madjo’s performance against PSG sent the English media into a frenzy. He urges caution – it was a glorified friendly – and places his faith instead in Unai Emery.

Emery, he argues, is the reason Villa can realistically target another top-four push and a Champions League quarter-final. This despite losing Morgan Rogers to Chelsea, Youri Tielemans to Manchester United and the possibility of Ezri Konsa leaving before the window shuts.

Emery’s track record of turning doubted players into key contributors underpins Hannigan’s confidence. Viktor Lindelöf, signed on a free after an underwhelming United spell, started 27 games, even stepping into midfield when needed. The arrival of Alejandro Garnacho, a prodigious but volatile talent, tests that faith, but the manager’s influence looms larger than any individual.

Keep Boubacar Kamara fit, keep John McGinn’s low centre of gravity as immovable as ever, and get Ollie Watkins firing again after a paltry 56 World Cup minutes, and Villa, Hannigan insists, can at least match last season.

His top five: 1. Chelsea 2. Manchester City 3. Liverpool 4. Aston Villa 5. Manchester United.

Chelsea and the capital’s ambitions

PAUL FINNEGAN, FORMER IBO PRESIDENT, CHELSEA

Finnegan backed Chelsea for the title last season. They finished 10th. He blames, in part, the mid-season loss of Enzo Maresca to Manchester City, a move that derailed any momentum and left Cole Palmer floundering.

Palmer, denied a World Cup spot with England, looked exhausted and off the pace. A glaring late miss against Leeds at Stamford Bridge, which would have won the game, became a symbol of his season.

This time, Finnegan reins in the hype but not the optimism. He slots Chelsea in at second. The squad, he argues, is loaded with talent and finally balanced with experience in Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck. A year without European football should allow total focus on domestic competitions. Crucially, he welcomes the shift from “coach” to “manager” under Xabi Alonso and wants non-football voices at the club to step back.

He’s pleased Arsenal finally got over the line, if only so he can stop feeling sorry for them – and for Mayo. He expects Arteta’s side to retain the title and sees a deep Champions League run as a realistic target. Liverpool, he thinks, will thrive under Iraola. Maresca, he warns, will need time at City. Villa will be strong again, but he tips United to edge them. Spurs, he concedes, will improve, but the field is too crowded.

His top five: 1. Arsenal 2. Chelsea 3. Liverpool 4. Manchester United 5. Manchester City.

Across this mosaic of loyalties and grievances, a few themes cut through. Arsenal, the champions, command respect but not fear. City’s grip loosens without Rodri and without Guardiola. United fans smell opportunity in Carrick’s calm revolution. Liverpool brace for turbulence but cling to identity. Chelsea and Spurs talk about plans, not chaos.

The bookmakers have made their call. The fans have made theirs. The only certainty now is that someone’s season is about to be torn up by reality.