Arsenal take on Manchester City at Wembley in the traditional curtain-raiser of the Community Shield on Sunday in a match between two of the favourites for the Premier League title
Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal,
Mikel Arteta has endured a difficult pre-season with Arsenal(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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The Community Shield is here! And this time it might count for a little more.
The curtain-raiser at Wembley has never been a fixture to get the juices flowing, but this time it is Arsenal vs Manchester City in a match which will see two of the favourites for the Premier League title lock horns.
Mikel Arteta has been enduring a largely frustrating pre-season, with Arsenal shipping goals in friendlies and unable to land their biggest targets in the transfer window. Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis are the only two major additions so far but could feature on Sunday.
City, meanwhile, are at the start of the long-awaited post-Pep Guardiola Enzo Maresca era. They have signed Elliot Anderson, but could lose Rodri in a transfer tussle with Barcelona.
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Nathan Ridley
It was always going to be a tricky summer for Arsenal given their gruelling 2025-26 campaign and the World Cup that followed. How do you improve a title-winning squad without breaking the bank?
They went for Vinicius Junior. They went for Morgan Rogers. But you can't blame Arsenal for A. not being Real Madrid and B. deciding not to spend £116million on an attacker who wouldn't be guaranteed a place in their line-up?
Mikel Arteta didn't have much time to work with his regular starters in pre-season and it showed. The Gunners leaked goals like we haven't seen for years.
Kai Havertz of Arsenal looks dejected
Arsenal have got used to picking the ball out of their net in pre-season(Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
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And I'm expecting Manchester City to capitalise on that rustiness, with Erling Haaland hungry to exploit Arsenal's lack of a first-choice centre-back pairing. When it comes to the title race, however, I reckon Arsenal's muscle memory will be enough to see them through in a season full of unknowns, especially when it comes to the top teams and their new managers.
Ben Husband
Here we go then, the game that will undoubtedly create the biggest over-reactions that ultimately don’t come true.
With so many players yet to be up to full speed after the World Cup, this game - and the result - should be taken with a huge pinch of salt. But Arsenal have looked a little rusty in pre-season and William Saliba's absence has made them look a little more susceptible at the back.
Erling Haaland is yet to play in pre-season, but it usually doesn't take him long to get back to full speed and I expect him to have some involvement - and to inevitably score.
The Gunners will be much stronger once they have their full arsenal (sorry) available, but this weekend I fancy City to get one over their title rivals.
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland was given extra time off after the World Cup(Image: Icon Sport via Getty Images)
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Felix Keith
The last three Community Shields have finished as a draw, treating the Wembley crowd to a penalty shoot-out and I can see this going the same way.
Having gone through an array of friendlies in pre-season, this curtain-raiser is only a step up in terms of competitiveness. However, the rivalry between the two clubs and the impending title race should add a bit more to the occasion.
City are at the early stages of the Maresca era and will likely take a little longer to gel than Arsenal, who are much the same as last season currently, due to a sluggish transfer window. It's hard to read too much into pre-season results, where Arsenal have been slack defensively, so I think they'll up the ante enough to win, but only just.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JULY 14: William Saliba #17 of France injured during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi Final match between France and Spain at Dallas Stadium on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Zhizhao Wu/Getty Images)
William Saliba is a big miss for Arsenal(Image: Zhizhao Wu/Getty Images)
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Dan Marsh
Arsenal's rock-solid defence was the cornerstone of their Premier League title win last season, but it feels like their strength in that area will be tested with William Saliba out long-term and no signings in that area as we stand.
Manchester City can take advantage of that here, although their pre-season preparations have also been hampered by players returning to action later due to the World Cup. Enzo Maresca's arrival has seen City's wingers play wider than they did under Pep Guardiola in their warm-up games, so it feels like they will be given a license to really get at Arsenal's full-backs.
I think Maresca will carry on Guardiola's fine work and winning today's game would be the ideal start for him. I think it will be tight and not particularly fluent. And City will edge it 2-1.
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