The traditional opening scene of the English football season is played out on Wembley on Sunday as Premier League and FA Cup holders Manchester City face off against the side who finished second to them in the top flight, Arsenal. The Community Shield tends to be labelled as nothing more than a glorified friendly, particularly by whichever manager ends up on the losing side, but for one team in particular there would be real value in winning this game.
Arsenal have won just one of their last 16 matches against Pep Guardiola's side and it was the difference between these two on the pitch when they met that decided the Premier League title last season -- had the Gunners won their two top flight meetings with City in 2022-23 it would have been they who were champions of England. "It is time to do it," was Mikel Arteta's forceful message ahead of the game. If his players do end the sky blue hoodoo over them, there may be cause to hope that they can go one better this season. Here is how you can watch the match and what you need to know:
Viewing information
- Date: Sunday, August 7 | Time: 11 a.m. ET
- Location: Wembley Stadium, London
- Live stream: ESPN+
- Odds: Manchester City -125; Draw +290; Arsenal +300
Storylines
Manchester City: The arrival of Josko Gvardiol somewhat eases questions over whether City have sufficient depth to compete on multiple fronts again this season but this is still a team that has lost Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan with further questions over the future of Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, Joao Cancelo and perhaps even Bernardo Silva. Two Croatia internationals have arrived this summer, the aforementioned center back and Mateo Kovacic.
Gvardiol could be thrust into a bigger role from the off due to the injury issues that have hampered Nathan Ake during preseason. Both he and Kevin De Bruyne have been battling with issues this summer and may not feature at Wembley.
Arsenal: As City's squad has contracted, Arteta's has expanded with three summer additions so far -- Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz and record signing Declan Rice -- with Granit Xhaka the only major departure so far. Arsenal's great success last season came in no small part because of a settled XI, now they are hoping that they will have the options to be a more unpredictable, and therefore dangerous, opponent.
On Sunday, however, that threat will be lessened by the absence of Gabriel Jesus, who underwent a small surgical procedure earlier this week and will miss the opening weeks of the season. "He's fine – obviously he was very disappointed, he was feeling really good," said Arteta. "This issue came up which nobody expected so we had to do a little procedure there. Unfortunately, it was the best thing to do and as quickly as possible, the better. We made the decision and hopefully he'll be back soon."
Prediction
Manchester City are still the lodestar for the best in England and beyond, expect them to prove that as 2023-24 gets up and running. PICK: Manchester City 2, Arsenal 0
