Every single Community Shield Arsenal have won
Arsenal has won the FA Community Shield 17 times throughout the history of the competition.
The Gunners have won it the second highest amount of times underneath Manchester United who have lifted the honour on four more occasions (21).
Traditionally speaking the winners of the FA Cup and League have faced each other in the Community Shield, however if one team secures both then second in the table is handed the chance instead to take home the trophy.
Arsenal secured the then named Charity Shield five times throughout the highly successful 1930s period which also saw the North Londoner’s win the First Division the same number of times.
The Gunners first tasted success in the tournament in 1930 after having only just won their first ever English major honour being the FA Cup earlier that year underneath the legendary Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman.
1930
In front of 18,000 spectators at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge Arsenal narrowly avoided a draw sharing the trophy which was permitted then against Sheffield Wednesday who won the First Division for the fourth time and final time. Joe Hulme handed The Gunners the opener before the lead was doubled before the break through then main talisman David Jack. The Wednesday then halved their deficit before losing 2-1 to The Arsenal.
1931
A year later Chapman’s side returned in the Charity Shield but this time as League winners after clinching the 1931 First Division title for the first time ever! In a tight game The Gunners clawed out a 1-0 victory over West Brom at Aston Villa’s Villa Park, all thanks to a finish from boy wonder Cliff Bastin who was Arsenals all-time top goalscorer till 1997 before Ian Wright broke his 178 goal record.
1933
In October 1933 The Gunners dismantled Everton with masterful ease beating them 3-0 with strikes from Ray Bowden and two by Ralp Birkett with 40,000 watching in the bitter cold from the terraces of Goodison Park.
1934
Whilst Arsenal were on their way to a hat-trick of League titles under now George Allison following the death of Chapman earlier in the year, a fourth Charity shield in five years was secured against Manchester City. With only nearly 11,000 fans attending the game at Highbury Birkett, James Marshall, Bastin and Ted Drake who would go onto score a record breaking seven goals against Aston Villa the next year, setting the marker for the most strikes bagged in an English top-flight game of football to this day, all cemented the 4-0 walk in the park.
1938
With even less in attendance (7,233) than the 1934 Charity Shield Arsenal held the venue again for the tossup. Drake who would end up being The Gunners top scorer for a fifth consecutive season since arriving in 1934 from Second Division Southampton, grabbed both of the goals which saw Preston North End taken down 2-1.
1948
The Gunners would claim their first post- war Charity Shield in 1948 after having won the First Division for the first time since 1938. Tom Whittaker now in charge of Arsenal saw his team just about get the better of Matt Busby’s Manchester United 4-3, witnessing Brynmor Jones, Reg Lewis and Ronnie Rooke clatter in with their efforts on goal.
1953
Following Arsenals last game of the season heroics which saw them take home the 1953 First Division, it merited an appearance in the Charity Shield versus Blackpool. Stanley Matthews had just secured the FA Cup for Blackpool in what will go down in history as the “Matthews final”, his heroics would pay off again. Despite Arsenal rocking The Seasiders 3-1 Matthews was awarded man of the match. Stan Mortensen who had scored a hat-trick in the FA Cup final handed his team the lead after half an hour, but seconds before the interval Tommy Lawton hit the leveller. In the second half Doug Lishman scored twice to overrun the visitor’s defence rounding off victory.
1991
George Graham’s Arsenal ended up bitterly drawing 0-0 in the 1991 Charity Shield against no worse side Tottenham. Spurs had already beaten The Gunners 3-1 at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals before eventually picking up the trophy. After 90 minutes the shield was shared, and partly won for the first time in almost 40 years!
1998
After Arsenal had just won their first Premier League title under new manager Arsene Wenger they faced Manchester United in the Charity Shield. The Gunners ensured the shield was won this time round beating Sir Ale Ferguson’s Red Devils 3-0, all due to efforts sealed by Marc Overmars, Nicolas Anelka and Christopher Wreh.
1999
Arsenal faced Manchester United in the Charity Shield for the second consecutive year, this time the occasion proved harder than the previous time. Wenger’s side was on the backfoot after 36 minutes when Dwight Yorke fired in the opener, but Arsenals cannons started to properly fire in the second half. Kanu slotted in a merciless penalty on 67 minutes before Ray Parlour found the 2-1 winner 11 minutes later.
2002
After having just been beaten by Liverpool the year beforehand in the FA Cup on the same soil Arsenal prepared to play them again for the 2002 Community Shield. Only a Gilberto Silva goal in the final 45 minutes would split the two sides apart with Wenger seeing off The Merseysider’s 1-0.
2004
For the third time in six years Arsenal came up against Manchester United in the Community Shield. The Gunners ran the show tackling United 3-1. Silva handed Arsenal the advantage after 50 minutes but within five minutes Alan Smith (not the once Gunner) equalised which wasn’t taken lightly. Within moments Jose Antonio Reyes restored the lead before Mikael Silvestre pounced in the third and final goal of the match.
2014
After having just come back from two goals down to beat Hull City in that year’s FA Cup Final to win 3-2 they went head to head with league heroes Manchester City. Despite not beating City in the league that season they dismantled them in the shield with ease, where after 42 minutes The Gunners found themselves in dreamland and two goals to the good thanks to strikes from Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey. Olivier Giroud topped off the 3-0 victory on the hour mark before being handed the man of the match trophy.
2015
Following two successive FA Cup victories Wenger guided Arsenal to the Community Shield yet again! Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain slammed Arsenal into an early lead which they would hold onto for the remainder of the game before finally securing a nervy 1-0 win over Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea. This was the only time in history that Wenger beat Mourinho in his career!
2017
Wenger would end up lifting the trophy a record breaking seven times whilst still boss of Arsenal. Following a tough opening 45 minutes Chelsea made the most of it through Victor Moses who handed The Blues the first goal of the game after 47 minutes, before Sead Kolasinac fired back for The Arsenal to make it 1-1. The game went to penalties witnessing the first ever ABBA system tested where the plan saw one side take two penalties on the trot before switching over. The Gunners made the most of this humiliating Chelsea 4-1 on penalties with masterful ease.
2020
Within a couple of months of new and current Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta heralding his first major honour (2020 FA Cup), it was now time for him to double his winnings. In an intense battle with Liverpool The Gunners stole the opener after 12 minutes through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but inside the 73rd minute Takumi Minamino retaliated making all things square, 1-1. After the match went to extra-time which struggled to split the two teams Arsenal edged out The Reds 5-4 on penalties.
2023
Arteta claimed his third and latest piece of silverware with the Gunners after long windily defeating Manchester City in the 2023 Community Shield. In an uncompromising game of football which struggled to see any team score, Manchester City’s Cole Palmer arose with the effort which saw The Citizens look as if they were to run away with glory in the 77th minute, this would be far from the case. In the 11th minute of stoppage time Leandro Trossard bagged the leveller (1-1) forcing the match to penalties. For the third consecutive time in the Community Shield Arsenal rose up as penalty champions sideswiping the blue side of Manchester 4-1 with utmost gusto and pride.
Will Arsenal win the Community Shield again next season?
Liam Harding
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“Will Arsenal win the Community Shield again next season?”. Hopefully, but does anyone really care that much about this particular trophy? Apparently, it didn’t exactly attract the fans back in the Arsenal glory days of the 1930s, although attendances (at least) have improved since then.
I guess that the equivalent in some countries would be a Super Cup, but that’s probably more prestigious in, say, Spain than the Community Shield is here.
You’ve obviously never attended a Community Shield game then Bertie?
Believe me, once your there, it’s as important as every other game and, when we beat city115 on penalties, it was just as good as beating them in the PL.
I don’t doubt at all that it’s important at the time of the game itself.
However, it’s probably of greater significance as a trophy to Arsenal (if it is?) because it’s the one piece of silverware that the club has won most – outstripping both the number of F A Cup and title wins so it certainly makes the club’s overall total more respectable, doesn’t it. I’m not so sure (and I also don’t know) whether it’s of equal significance to, say, Utd or Liverpool whose totals are already bigger without including it. Just thinking out loud, I guess.
We are now in phase five, what that simple means, the gaffer have to get his hands on one of those big ears jug.
We could start by wrestling away one of those little mugs, but all eyes are on the real prize which is the champions league or Premier league.
I think perhaps we should be concentrating more on the “Phase” that keeps all the Arsenal players on the pitch throughout a game. We could call it “Phase Eleven” because without that the chances of a successful Phase Five (or whatever) are reduced quite considerably certainly as far as the EPL is concerned.