Arsenal and Manchester City kick off the 2023/24 campaign in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners led the Premier League last season for an unparalleled 248 days. City, however, crucially sat in first place on the final Sunday of the campaign. Pep Guardiola’s side added the FA Cup and Champions League to their league title to become just the second English side ever to win all three competitions in the same campaign.
Here’s everything you need to know about the first step in Arsenal’s quest for revenge while City target yet another piece of silverware.
Arsenal vs Man City H2H record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (Last Five Games)
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Country |
TV channel / Live stream |
|---|---|
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United Kingdom |
ITV 1 UK, ITVX, STV Scotland |
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United States |
ESPN+, ESPN App |
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Canada |
Sportsnet World, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet Now Plus, Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Now |
Arsenal’s pre-season campaign has been pockmarked by minor injuries to a gaggle of first-team players. Gabriel Jesus was the latest to populate the treatment room after sustaining a knee issue that required surgery. The former City striker will not face his past employers on Sunday but is expected to only miss the first few weeks of the season.
Neither Reiss Nelson (finger) nor Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) played any role in Arsenal’s US tour due to injury. Mohamed Elneny is still working his way back from a serious knee problem while Folarin Balogun is nursing an issue with his foot. But record arrival Declan Rice recovered from a knock in training to feature in a friendly against Monaco on Wednesday.
Bukayo Saka sat out the Emirates Cup clash with illness but is expected to shake off the sniffles to run out against City.
Arsenal predicted lineup (4-3-3): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli
Guardiola tried to quell expectations during City’s pre-season tour of Asia. “It is what it is and what it has been in previous seasons,” he explained, “we always play the Community Shield not in a good condition.”
However, Guardiola only has two serious injury doubts to mull over. Nathan Ake was rested for the friendly loss to Atletico Madrid as a precaution but could return at Wembley this weekend. Kevin De Bruyne played no role throughout the summer warm-up games as he continues his gradual recovery from a hamstring tear suffered in the Champions League final.
Man City predicted lineup (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji; Alvarez, Rodri, Kovacic; Bernardo, Haaland, Grealish
A contest that was once exclusively framed by the relationship between Guardiola and Mikel Arteta can now be viewed as a clash between two genuine title contenders. However, while Arsenal‘s aspirations of going one better this term are entirely valid, their record against City offers little cause for optimism in this particular fixture.
The Gunners have lost 15 of their last 16 matches against City across all competitions. Although, the solitary win in that one-sided sequence came when the pair last met at Wembley.
If Manchester City are as undercooked as Guardiola fears, Arteta could get a rare victory against his former boss. Though that isn’t the most likely outcome of Sunday’s showpiece.
Prediction: Arsenal 1-2 Man City
