Arsenal F.C.–Manchester City F.C. rivalry
English football club rivalry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The rivalry between English professional football clubs Arsenal and Manchester City began in 2008 after Manchester City were the subject of major financial investment. Prior to this, Arsenal were one of the stronger teams in English football, last winning the Premier League in 2003–04, and had not finished behind City since 1993. Arsenal saw several important players such as Emmanuel Adebayor and Samir Nasri leave for Manchester City. Arsenal's then-manager Arsène Wenger criticised City's transfer policy and financial strategy.[1][2][3][4][5] In 2012 City won their first English title since 1968, and would go on to win several more over the following decade. Arsenal would win several FA Cups in this period, but would rarely pose a threat to City in the Premier League.[6] The two clubs competed for the Premier League title throughout the 2022–23 season with Arsenal leading for significant periods of the season, and during the 2023–24 season but City prevailed both times; however, they lost out to Arsenal in the 2025–26 season.
Football League Second Division
Woolwich Arsenal 1–0 Ardwick
Community Shield
Arsenal 3–0 Manchester City
Premier League
Arsenal v Manchester City
Manchester City and Arsenal players in a match at the Emirates Stadium in 2012. | |
| Teams | Arsenal Manchester City |
|---|---|
| First meeting | 11 November 1893 Football League Second Division Woolwich Arsenal 1–0 Ardwick |
| Latest meeting | 16 August 2026 Community Shield Arsenal 3–0 Manchester City |
| Next meeting | 28 November 2026 Premier League Arsenal v Manchester City |
| Stadiums | Emirates Stadium (Arsenal) Etihad Stadium (Manchester City) |
| Statistics | |
| Total meetings | 217 |
All-time series | Arsenal: 101 Drawn: 49 Manchester City: 67 |
Largest victory | Arsenal 5–0 Manchester City (27 October 2000) Manchester City 5–0 Arsenal (28 August 2021) |
Largest goal scoring | Arsenal 7–3 Manchester City (6 October 1956) |
  Arsenal  Manchester City | |
Rivalry
Early history (1893–2008)
Arsenal and Manchester City were not traditional rivals, the first game between the two clubs was a Football League Division Two match between Woolwich Arsenal and Ardwick on 11 November 1893, ending in a 1–0 win for Arsenal. The first 14 games between the two teams were played in the second division with City winning 8, Arsenal with 4 and 2 draws.[7]
Arsenal historically have had more success certainly during the 1990s and early 2000s. At the time of the Abu Dhabi United Group takeover of City in 2008, Arsenal had won thirteen domestic top-flight league titles, ten FA cups and two Football League Cups; City, conversely had won only two domestic top-flight league titles, four FA Cups and two Football League Cups. Arsenal under Arsène Wenger had also finished runners-up in the 2006 UEFA Champions League final and had been a consistent challenging team domestically since winning their first Premier League title in 1998. By 2008, Arsenal had not finished outside the top four since the 1995–96 season, whereas City had not finished in the top four since the 1977–78 season, although they did finish a place higher than Arsenal in the inaugural Premier League season in 1992–93. Despite finishing lower, Arsenal defeated City 1–0 on both occasions during the season.[8]
Abu Dhabi takeover and players move to City (2008–2014)
Following Manchester City's takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, the club's increased spending on players began to rile several opposition managers with Arsène Wenger being particularly outspoken in his disapproval of City's financial approach on numerous occasions.[9][10][11]
During the summer of 2009, City, who had finished 10th in the previous season (six places behind Arsenal in 4th), would move to sign Gunners pair Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Touré. Adebayor had been the Gunners' second-highest goal scorer in the previous season, where Toure was the club's vice-captain and a former Premier League winner who had amassed 326 appearances across all competitions.[12]
In the first game between the two teams during the 2009–10 season, City would win 4–2 at home with Adebayor scoring the third goal that, at the time, put City ahead; he would then run the length of the pitch before sliding on his knees and celebrating in front of the Arsenal supporters.[13] During the game he had caused controversy with a late tackle on Cesc Fàbregas and flicking a boot in the face of Robin van Persie. Adebayor received a yellow card and would later apologise for "losing his head" after what he described as two hours of abuse from Arsenal fans: "I was in my spiritual zone. Kolo Toure said to me: 'I was looking at the pictures and you did not flinch once.' I did not feel human anymore. The abuse was too much. I was ready to die. I just looked at them and thought 'There are things you do not do.'"[14] In 2018, Adebayor stated that he still hates both Arsenal and Arsene Wenger, recalling the moment in a TV interview where Wenger had described his move as money orientated.[15] City would also complete the transfers of former Arsenal players and previous Wenger signings Sylvinho from Barcelona, and club legend Patrick Vieira from Inter Milan, adding to an increasing number of ex-Gunners players in the City ranks.[16][17]
Wenger would also publicly criticise City's sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways, accusing the club of bending UEFA's fair play rules.[18]
In the summer of 2011, City added two more of Arsenal's more important players, the signing of long-standing left-back Gaël Clichy as well as Samir Nasri, who had made the PFA Team of the Year and had scored 15 goals from midfield in the previous season.[19][20] Prior to the Nasri transfer, Wenger accused City manager Roberto Mancini of being "disrespectful" and "out of order" in a press conference, voicing his disapproval at Mancini answering a question stating he hoped a deal could be done for Nasri.[21] Due to criticism, Nasri protested that his move to City was about winning titles and not money, before going on to criticise Arsenal's transfer policy.[22]
During the run in for the 2011–12 season, City, who were fighting Manchester United for the title, were beaten 1–0 by Arsenal in a game that was marred by the sending off of City striker Mario Balotelli as fractures were seen between the relationship of the player and his manager Roberto Mancini.[23] Despite being eight points adrift following the game, City would go on to win their first title on the final day of the season.[24]
In September 2012, Mancini criticised Wenger for constantly complaining about City spending money, claiming that Arsenal have also spent big money on players.[25] In 2013, a video posted to the internet appeared to show Nasri being abused by Arsenal fans as he entered the Emirates Stadium; in a later interview, Nasri branded the fans as "stupid", and opened up about the abuse he had received since leaving for City.[26]
Bacary Sagna became the most recent Arsenal player to transfer to City under the Wenger era at the beginning of the 2014–15 season, although the transfer had less impact on Arsenal than the others given the players contract was about to expire.[27] Wenger would criticise City once again by claiming the clubs decision to sign Frank Lampard from Chelsea via New York City FC, which was a part of the City Football Group that also owns Manchester City, was a way to get around FFP rules. City manager Manuel Pellegrini said he was surprised by Wenger's outburst given Lampard was a free transfer having been released by Chelsea.[28] The following week Arsenal would defeat City 3–0 in the 2014 FA Community Shield.[29]
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Arsenal decline and City domination (2014–2022)
"I'm not an Arsenal fan, I am not from London. If we want to be honest, we are players who look at what is in the best interests for us and our career. When Manchester City came, it was the best choice for me to come here. And today I have won trophies, I am really happy, I have everything and I have a better life."
By the end of the 2016–17 season, following the appointment Pep Guardiola as City manager the three final ex-Arsenal players Clichy, Nasri and Sagna were released, therefore the on-the field rivalry cooled, despite Guardiola appointing former Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta as his assistant coach.[31]
Despite Arsenal continuing to triumph in domestic cup competitions, adding the FA Cup in both 2017 and 2020, they began to regress and struggle in the League, posting finishes between 5th and 8th between 2015–16 and 2019–20, where as City would go on to gain four titles between 2017–18 and 2021–22, and cementing themselves as the dominant force in English football over the last decade.
The two clubs would meet in the 2018 EFL Cup final at Wembley Stadium, the first competitive final between the two teams. City would run out comfortable winners in a 3–0 victory with goals from Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva.[32] Days later City would defeat Arsenal 3–0 again in the League with a victory at the Emirates Stadium that piled pressure on Wenger.[33] Wenger would leave the club at the end of the 2017–18 season.[34]
Title rivals (2022–present)
In 2019, Guardiola's former City assistant manager Mikel Arteta returned to Arsenal as their new manager, replacing Unai Emery who had been sacked, although by the end of the 2021–22 season City had extended their unbeaten run against Arsenal in the League to 13 games, with Guardiola losing his first game to Arteta in a 2–0 FA Cup defeat on 18 July 2020.[35]
In the summer of 2022, City agreed to the sale of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal with both players reuniting with Arteta. With Arsenal finishing 5th in the previous season, Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane expressed his belief that the pair had been allowed to join Arsenal because City no longer considered the Gunners a direct threat.[36] Guardiola explained the transfers by saying all-parties were happy with the outcome.[37]
Arsenal carved out a lead in the Premier League and by the time the two teams met in February 2023 they led City by three points. In the game at the Emirates, City went on to win the game 3–1 and temporarily leapfrogged Arsenal at the top of the league.[38] City also defeated the Gunners 1–0 in the FA Cup on their way to winning the tournament.[39] In a contrast to Arsenal fans in the past, City fans gave Oleksandr Zinchenko a standing ovation upon his return to the City of Manchester Stadium, he thanked fans by saying "There are no old friends - there are friends with whom there are many good memories and you will always be glad to see each of them. There is no past home - there is a place where you were very happy, and now you are happy to return. Thank you Etihad for the warm welcome!".[40]
Arsenal carved out a ten-point lead in the race for the Premier League but would be thrashed 4–1 by City at the City of Manchester Stadium as Guardiola's team clawed back the advantage.[41] Arsenal would go on to draw 3 and lose 3 of their final 9 games and would eventually finish 2nd to City by five points.[42]
In the first game of the 2023–24 season the two teams met in the 2023 FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium. Following victory in the 2023 UEFA Champions League final, City headed into the game as treble winners and led 1–0 following a late strike from Cole Palmer, however Leandro Trossard's heavily deflected shot cannoned off Manuel Akanji to equalise in the 11th of 13 minutes of added on time sent the game to a penalty shootout, in which the Gunners would win 4–1. After the game, following the equaliser coming in a prolonged period of added on time Guardiola bemoaned the new controversial stoppage time rules brought in by the Football Association during the summer.[43][44]
On 8 October 2023, Arsenal ended their 12-game losing streak when Gabriel Martinelli's 86th-minute deflected shot wrong-footed Ederson to give the Gunners a 1–0 win, the club's first in the Premier League since December 2015.[45] Arsenal held City to a 0–0 stalemate at the City of Manchester Stadium on 31 March 2024, the first time Arsenal had taken points away at City of Manchester Stadium since 8 May 2016, a 2–2 draw. This result also ended Manchester City's 58-game home scoring streak, and was City's first 0–0 draw in 75 Premier League games under Guardiola.
In the title run-in, Arsenal and City found themselves in a two-horse race for the title once again amid Liverpool's title bid collapsing due to the Reds dropping points in 5 of their final 8 games. This season, it was far closer with the race going to the final day but City were once more victorious, pipping Arsenal to the title by 2 points.
On 22 September 2024, the teams met for the first time in the 2024–25 season. Erling Haaland scored to give City an early lead at the Etihad Stadium, before Riccardo Calafiori scored his first ever goal for Arsenal from outside the box to level the game. Gabriel then headed Arsenal in front before Leandro Trossard was sent off deep into stoppage time in the first half. Arsenal defended deep throughout the second half and were seconds away from securing their first win at the City of Manchester Stadium since 2015, only for John Stones to score a 98th-minute equalizer to salvage a point for City. After the game, Haaland was seen saying "Stay humble." to Mikel Arteta, which lead to an altercation between Gabriel Jesus and Haaland.[46]
On 2 February 2025, Arsenal and City met for their second match-up of the season, with Arsenal subsequently winning the bout 5–1. This included Myles Lewis-Skelly scoring his first senior goal for the Gunners, to put them 3–1 up. On 21 September 2025, both teams met at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League, the match ended in a 1–1 draw thanks to Gabriel Martinelli's lob over Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 3rd minute of added time.[47] The two met in the 2026 EFL Cup final, with Nico O'Reilly scoring a brace to secure the trophy for City.[48] City won their meeting at the City of Manchester Stadium on 19 April 2026 with a score of 2–1 to put City within three points of the league lead with a game in hand.[49] During the match, an altercation took place between Gabriel Magalhães and Haaland.[50] After defeating Burnley 1–0 away in the following league game, City moved to the top of the table for the first time since mid-August on goals scored.[51] However, a 1–1 draw away to AFC Bournemouth on 19 May 2026 mathematically secured Arsenal their fourth Premier League title, and their first since 2003–04.[52]
Rivalry between managers
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Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, who are both from Spain, came through the Barcelona academy, and they first met when Arteta was coming through the youth academy whilst Guardiola was an accomplished first team player. Arteta's debut for the Barcelona B team was as a substitute for Guardiola, whose playing career was ultimately winding down due to injuries. Both men are reported to have stayed in touch ever since. Guardiola would go on to manage Barcelona and Bayern Munich before joining City in 2016, whilst Arteta went on to have an established top flight career in the United Kingdom with Rangers, Everton and finally Arsenal where he retired during the same summer of Guardiola's appointment in Manchester.[53]
In the summer of 2016, Guardiola appointed Arteta as one of his assistant coaches to work alongside veteran Brian Kidd. In joining City, he turned down the opportunity to remain at Arsenal as part of Arsène Wenger's coaching staff having been offered the chance to run the clubs academy. He also turned down the opportunity to join Tottenham Hotspur as part of Mauricio Pochettino's staff.[54]
Arteta stood in as City manager in a 2–1 Champions League loss against Lyon on 19 September 2018, because of Guardiola's touchline ban.[55] At City, Arteta won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and two EFL Cups. In 2018, Arteta became strongly linked with the Arsenal manager's vacancy, following the departure of his former manager Arsène Wenger, but Unai Emery was eventually hired.[56][57]
On 20 December 2019, Arteta was appointed head coach at Arsenal, signing a deal until 2023.[58][59] Upon his appointment, he stated that he believed the club had lost direction and that he didn't want players to shirk responsibility: "I want people to take responsibility for their jobs and I want people who deliver passion and energy in the football club. Anyone who doesn't buy into this, or that has a negative effect or whatever, is not good enough for this environment or this culture."[60]
Both men have since expressed their relationship would not change despite managing rival clubs and both regard one on another as a close friend.[61] During the run in for the title in 2022–23, Arteta stated "I would prefer to do it with someone else, to be fair. I want the best for him, genuinely, and when you are challenging with someone like this and something comes in-between that, it's a strange feeling."[62]
Honours
- As of 16 August 2026
- Club holds record in the competition
| Arsenal | Competition | Manchester City | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | |||
| 14 | First Division / Premier League | 10 | |
| 14 | FA Cup | 8 | |
| 2 | League Cup | 9 | |
| 18 | FA Community Shield | 7 | |
| 1 | Football League Centenary Trophy (defunct) | — | |
| 49 | Domestic total | 34 | |
| International | |||
| — | UEFA Champions League | 1 | |
| 1 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (defunct) | 1 | |
| — | UEFA Super Cup | 1 | |
| 1 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (defunct) | — | |
| — | FIFA Club World Cup | 1 | |
| 2 | International total | 4 | |
| 51 | Grand total | 38 | |
Head-to-head
| Competition | Played | Arsenal wins | Draws | Manchester City wins | Arsenal goals | Manchester City goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | 58 | 25 | 13 | 20 | 83 | 77 |
| First Division | 124 | 60 | 32 | 32 | 212 | 146 |
| Second Division | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 25 |
| FA Cup | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 |
| EFL Cup | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 17 |
| UEFA Champions League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FA Community Shield | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Total | 217 | 101 | 49 | 67 | 337 | 271 |
Matches
The table below shows the matches played between Arsenal and Manchester City, separated by home, as in matches played in Arsenal's Manor Ground, Highbury Stadium and now Emirates Stadium are shown in the left hand table and matches played at Manchester City's home stadium (following a nomadic embryonic existence, City resided at Hyde Road from 1887 to 1923, then Maine Road until 2003, and finally the City of Manchester Stadium from the 2003–04 season onwards) are shown on the right. Cup finals are typically played at a neutral location such as the England national football team home stadium (Wembley).
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| At neutral venues[63][64][65] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Competition | Venue |
| 10 August 2014 | Arsenal | 3–0 |
Manchester City | FA Community Shield | Wembley Stadium |
| 23 April 2017 | Arsenal | 2–1 (a.e.t.) |
Manchester City | FA Cup semi-final | Wembley Stadium |
| 25 February 2018 | Arsenal | 0–3 |
Manchester City | EFL Cup final | Wembley Stadium |
| 18 July 2020 | Arsenal | 2–0 |
Manchester City | FA Cup semi-final | Wembley Stadium |
| 6 August 2023 | Arsenal | 1–1 (4–1 p) |
Manchester City | FA Community Shield | Wembley Stadium |
| 22 March 2026 | Arsenal | 0–2 |
Manchester City | EFL Cup final | Wembley Stadium |
| 16 August 2026 | Arsenal | 3–0 |
Manchester City | FA Community Shield | Millennium Stadium |
Shared player history
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- As of 2 September 2026
- Players contracted professionally to each team.
| Player | Arsenal career | Manchester City career | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Span | League apps |
League goals |
Span | League apps |
League goals | |
 James Blair |
1905–1906 | 13 | 3 | 1906–1910 | 76 | 0 |
| Billy Blyth |
1914–1929 | 314 | 45 | 1913–1914 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Halliday |
1929–1932 | 15 | 8 | 1930–1933 | 76 | 47 |
 Dave Bacuzzi |
1958–1964 | 46 | 0 | 1964–1966 | 57 | 0 |
| Brian Kidd |
1974–1976 | 77 | 30 | 1976–1979 | 98 | 44 |
| Tommy Caton |
1983–1987 | 81 | 2 | 1979–1983 | 165 | 8 |
| Clive Allen |
1980 | 0 | 0 | 1989–1991 | 53 | 16 |
 Niall Quinn |
1983–1990 | 67 | 14 | 1990–1996 | 204 | 66 |
| David Rocastle |
1985–1992 | 218 | 24 | 1993–1994 | 21 | 2 |
| Neil Heaney |
1989–1994 | 7 | 0 | 1996–1999 | 18 | 1 |
| Andy Cole |
1989–1992 | 1 | 0 | 2005–2006 | 22 | 9 |
| David Seaman |
1990–2003 | 405 | 0 | 2003–2004 | 19 | 0 |
| Paul Dickov |
1990–1996 | 22 | 4 | 1996–2002 2006–2008 |
174 | 35 |
| Eddie McGoldrick |
1993–1996 | 38 | 0 | 1996–1999 | 39 | 0 |
 Patrick Vieira |
1996–2004 | 279 | 29 | 2010–2011 | 28 | 3 |
| Nicolas Anelka |
1997–1999 | 65 | 23 | 2002–2005 | 89 | 37 |
 Sylvinho |
1999–2001 | 59 | 1 | 2009–2010 | 10 | 0 |
| Stuart Taylor |
1999–2004 | 18 | 0 | 2009–2012 | 0 | 0 |
 Kolo Touré |
2001–2009 | 225 | 9 | 2009–2013 | 82 | 2 |
| Richard Wright |
2001–2002 | 12 | 0 | 2012–2016 | 0 | 0 |
| Gaël Clichy |
2003–2011 | 187 | 1 | 2011–2017 | 138 | 2 |
 Emmanuel Adebayor |
2006–2009 | 104 | 46 | 2009–2012 | 34 | 15 |
| Bacary Sagna |
2007–2014 | 213 | 4 | 2014–2017 | 54 | 0 |
| Samir Nasri |
2008–2011 | 86 | 18 | 2011–2017 | 129 | 18 |
 Denis Suárez |
2019 | 4 | 0 | 2011–2013 | 0 | 0 |
| Pablo Marí |
2020–2023 | 12 | 0 | 2016–2019 | 0 | 0 |
 Oleksandr Zinchenko |
2022–2026 | 69 | 2 | 2017–2022 | 76 | 0 |
| Gabriel Jesus |
2022–2026 | 84 | 21 | 2017–2022 | 159 | 58 |
| Raheem Sterling |
2024–2025 | 17 | 0 | 2015–2022 | 225 | 91 |
Played for one, managed the other
*italics denote caretaker or stand-in manager.
| Manager | Played for | Managed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Span | League apps |
League goals |
Team | Span | G | W | D | L | Win % | |
| Joe Mercer |
Arsenal | 1946–1955 | 247 | 2 | Manchester City | 1965–1971 | 340 | 149 | 94 | 97 | 43.82 |
| Alan Ball Jr. |
Arsenal | 1966–1971 | 177 | 45 | Manchester City | 1995–1996 | 49 | 13 | 14 | 22 | 26.53 |
| Brian Kidd |
Arsenal | 1974–1976 | 77 | 30 | Manchester City | 2013 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50 |
| Mikel Arteta |
Arsenal | 2011–2016 | 110 | 14 | Manchester City | 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |