The English football season begins with a familiar contest on Sunday as Arsenal take on Manchester City in the FA Community Shield, just a week before the Premier League gets underway.
The match at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium will give both teams their first chance to win silverware in the new campaign.
There is plenty of history between these two sides in recent years. Arsenal and City have been involved in some of the biggest Premier League battles with the two teams regularly fighting for the title for the past four seasons or so.
That rivalry reached another level last season when Arsenal finally finished ahead of City and ended their 22-year wait for the Premier League trophy. City finished second but still ended the campaign with the FA Cup and League Cup.
For Arsenal, the Community Shield is a chance to start their title defence with a trophy. Mikel Arteta’s side will also be looking to continue the progress made over the last few seasons. Arsenal have strengthened their squad again, including the signing of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle, and will hope to begin the new season on a positive note.
Manchester City, meanwhile, enter a new era. For the first time in 10 years, Pep Guardiola will not be in the dugout. Guardiola left the club after a hugely successful decade that brought 20 trophies, including multiple Premier League titles and the Champions League.
Enzo Maresca has now taken over as City’s new manager. The former Chelsea boss already knows the club well, having previously worked as one of Guardiola’s assistants. His first competitive match will therefore come against one of City’s biggest rivals, making the Community Shield an early test of his new team.
The two sides have also met in the Community Shield in recent years. Their previous clash came in 2023, when Arsenal produced a dramatic comeback to win the trophy. City looked set to lift the Shield after Cole Palmer gave them the lead, but Leandro Trossard equalised deep into stoppage time. Arsenal then won the penalty shootout 4-1.
That game showed how close the two teams had become and added another chapter to their growing rivalry.