Arsenal vs Man City Stats: One Rivalry, Two Very Different Records

Arsenal vs Man City Stats: The Numbers Behind One of England’s Biggest Rivalries

There was a time when an Arsenal vs Manchester City fixture was just another big Premier League game.

That is no longer the case.

Over the last decade, these two clubs have repeatedly found themselves competing for trophies, league titles and the biggest moments in English football. Their meetings have produced dominant victories, tense draws, late goals and some unforgettable scorelines.

And now, Arsenal vs Man City stats offer another interesting story.

The numbers show that Arsenal still have the stronger overall historical record, but City’s rise has dramatically changed the balance of this rivalry in the modern era.

With Arsenal and Manchester City preparing to meet again in the 2026 Community Shield, the numbers are worth looking at before the next chapter begins.

🔴 Arsenal vs Man City: The overall record

The rivalry dates all the way back to 1893, when Arsenal were still known as Woolwich Arsenal and Manchester City were known as Ardwick.

Since then, the clubs have met more than 200 times.

The latest available historical record shows:

Arsenal therefore remain ahead in the all-time head-to-head record despite Manchester City’s dominance during much of the modern Premier League era.

That is one of the first things that can get lost when people talk about this rivalry.

City may have had the upper hand during the Premier League’s recent years, but Arsenal’s historical record is still significantly stronger.

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📈 Arsenal vs Man City stats tell two different stories

This is where the rivalry becomes interesting.

Look at the overall Arsenal vs Man City stats, and Arsenal have the advantage.

Look at the most recent era, particularly Manchester City’s strongest years under Pep Guardiola, and the picture becomes much closer.

City’s long winning run against Arsenal became one of the defining features of the fixture.

At one point, Arsenal had lost seven consecutive Premier League matches at City’s home ground. That sequence was eventually broken when Arsenal held City to a goalless draw at the Etihad in March 2024.

That 0-0 result may not look spectacular on paper.

But in the context of this rivalry, it was significant.

It showed that Arsenal were beginning to approach City differently.

⚽ The last 10 Premier League meetings

If we want a more useful picture of the current rivalry, the last 10 Premier League meetings tell us far more than the 100-plus-year record.

Here are the results:

The record across those 10 Premier League matches is:

Manchester City wins: 5
Arsenal wins: 2
Draws: 3

City have scored 20 goals, while Arsenal have scored 13 across those 10 meetings.

That is a much tighter picture than City’s dominance over Arsenal during some earlier periods.

🔥 Arsenal’s 5-1 win changed the conversation

One result stands out immediately.

Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City — February 2, 2025.

It was not just a victory.

It was a statement.

Arsenal produced one of their most emphatic performances against City in the modern era, with the result giving supporters a glimpse of what Arteta’s team could do when everything clicked.

Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri were among the Arsenal players to score that day, adding another layer to the story of a team that was becoming increasingly confident against City.

For a rivalry that had been dominated by City for so long, a five-goal Arsenal performance was impossible to ignore.

😬 But City had the latest word

The story did not end there.

The latest Premier League meeting went City’s way.

On 19 April 2026, Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Etihad.

Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland scored for City, while Arsenal were unable to find a second goal after getting on the scoresheet themselves.

That result is particularly relevant ahead of the Community Shield.

The two teams are not meeting after years apart.

They are meeting only months after their latest competitive league encounter.

So the psychological element remains fresh.

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🏆 Arsenal vs Man City in the Community Shield

The Community Shield has produced a slightly different story.

The clubs have met three times in the competition.

Arsenal have won two, while one ended in a draw.

The most recent meeting came in 2023, when Arsenal came from behind to draw 1-1 before winning the trophy on penalties.

That was another important moment in the modern rivalry.

Arsenal had spent years struggling to consistently get the better of City.

Then, in 2023, they beat Guardiola’s side in the Community Shield and followed it with a Premier League victory later that year.

The 2026 meeting therefore has some interesting history behind it.

📊 Recent Arsenal vs Man City stats

If we narrow the focus to the last few Premier League meetings, the numbers become even more interesting.

Last five Premier League meetings

Arsenal wins: 1
Man City wins: 1
Draws: 3

Results:

• Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal — April 2026
• Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City — September 2025
• Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City — February 2025
• Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal — September 2024
• Manchester City 0-0 Arsenal — March 2024

So despite City’s overall advantage across the last 10 league meetings, Arsenal have made this fixture much harder to predict in the last few seasons.

That is probably the most important modern statistic.

🧤 Clean sheets have become more important

Another interesting feature of recent meetings is how often these matches have been decided by small margins.

The 0-0 draw in 2024 is an obvious example.

The 1-0 Arsenal victory later that year was another.

And the latest 2-1 City victory was also decided by a single goal.

That suggests the current Arsenal vs Man City rivalry is not simply about which team can score the most.

It is increasingly about who makes the fewest mistakes.

Against elite opposition, one defensive error can completely change the game.

💥 Biggest recent scorelines

Some of the recent results show just how dramatically this fixture can swing.

Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City

February 2025

One of Arsenal’s most convincing victories over City in the modern era.

Manchester City 5-0 Arsenal

August 2021

One of City’s biggest recent wins over Arsenal.

Manchester City 4-1 Arsenal

April 2023

A huge result during the 2022-23 title race that helped City take control of the championship battle.

Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City

October 2023

Arsenal finally ended a long Premier League wait for a victory over City in normal league play.

These results explain why this fixture is so difficult to predict.

One year can produce a completely different story from the next.

🧠 The biggest change in the rivalry

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Arsenal vs Man City stats is not a particular scoreline.

It is the change in Arsenal’s mentality.

For years, City appeared to have a psychological advantage.

Arsenal could play well and still lose.

That has changed.

Arteta’s side have become much more comfortable playing against City, particularly when they can control the midfield and defend as a compact unit.

The fact that Arsenal have beaten City, drawn with them and produced a 5-1 victory in recent seasons shows how much the gap has narrowed.

City remain a huge test.

But they are no longer an automatic defeat for Arsenal.

⚔️ Home advantage has been a major factor

The Etihad has historically been a difficult place for Arsenal.

Before Arsenal’s more recent improvement, City enjoyed a long sequence of home wins against the Gunners.

Even now, the venue remains an important part of the statistical story.

Arsenal’s most recent Premier League win at City’s home ground came much further back than their recent successes at the Emirates, and the Gunners have had to work particularly hard to take points from Manchester.

The upcoming Community Shield is different.

Neither team has home advantage.

That could make the 2026 encounter particularly interesting.

🌟 Players who could change the numbers

Statistics tell us what has happened.

They do not tell us exactly what will happen next.

That is where the individual players become important.

Bukayo Saka

Saka’s ability to create chances from the right side could be one of Arsenal’s biggest weapons.

If City cannot control him, Arsenal can stretch the defensive line.

Erling Haaland

Haaland remains the obvious threat for City.

The Norwegian needs very little space to turn a half-chance into a goal.

Bruno Guimaraes

The new Arsenal midfielder adds another interesting variable.

His ability to win the ball and move it quickly could influence how Arsenal approach City’s possession game.

Martin Odegaard

When Arsenal are able to get Odegaard involved between the lines, the game can change quickly.

His creativity could be particularly important if City sit deeper than expected.

🔮 What do the numbers say before the 2026 Community Shield?

If we only looked at the last 10 Premier League meetings, Manchester City would have the statistical edge.

5 City wins, 2 Arsenal wins and 3 draws.

But if we look at the broader historical record, Arsenal are clearly ahead.

And if we focus on the most recent five league meetings, the gap becomes much smaller:

1 Arsenal win, 1 City win and 3 draws.

Then there is the Community Shield record, where Arsenal have also enjoyed the better results.

So what does that actually tell us?

Probably this:

The old City dominance is no longer enough to predict the next Arsenal meeting.

🏟️ Why the 2026 match could be different

The 2026 Community Shield will also be played under unusual circumstances.

The match is taking place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, rather than Wembley, on August 16.

Manchester City are also beginning a new managerial era under Enzo Maresca.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have the benefit of continuity under Arteta.

That means historical statistics can only take us so far.

The teams taking the field in Cardiff will not be exactly the same teams represented in those old numbers.

📌 Arsenal vs Man City stats: The numbers to remember

If you only want the key figures before the Community Shield, these are the ones worth remembering:

216 — total historical meetings

101 — Arsenal wins

67 — Manchester City wins

48 — draws

5 — City wins in the last 10 Premier League meetings

2 — Arsenal wins in the last 10 Premier League meetings

3 — draws in the last 10 Premier League meetings

20 — City goals in those last 10 league meetings

13 — Arsenal goals in those last 10 league meetings

5-1 — Arsenal’s biggest recent statement win over City

2-1 — City’s latest Premier League victory over Arsenal

2 — Arsenal’s Community Shield wins against City

1 — Community Shield draw between the clubs

🔴 Final verdict

The numbers make one thing clear: Arsenal vs Man City stats tell a much more complicated story than simply saying Manchester City have dominated Arsenal.

Historically, Arsenal lead the rivalry.

In the modern Premier League era, City have had the stronger spell.

But recently, Arsenal have closed the gap.

The Gunners have beaten City 5-1, held them to several draws and ended one of the most difficult periods of the rivalry with a 1-0 league victory in 2023.

City, however, responded with their own wins and took the latest league meeting 2-1.

That is why the upcoming Community Shield is so difficult to call.

The old numbers matter.

The recent numbers matter even more.

And by Sunday, Cardiff will provide another set of statistics for this rivalry to remember.

One thing is certain: the next chapter of Arsenal vs Manchester City will be measured in more than just possession and goals. It will be another test of how far this rivalry has really changed.