(Football News) Last season was a massive improvement for Arsenal but it still wasn’t enough to win them the Premier League. Manchester City in the end won it quite comfortably but now Arsenal have an opportunity to get the better of City in the Community Shield final. Realistically the trophy is somewhat a preseason trophy but it could set up the season for either club. Arsenal are likely to give it more importance because of the transition period they are in. Manchester City surprisingly haven’t won the Community Shield since 2019 and have lost in the last two finals. Arsenal will definitely fancy their chances to start the season on a high.

New signings Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice, and Kai Havertz will get a chance to show their abilities in an Arsenal shirt. Manchester City have lost club captain Ilkay Gundogan and winger Riyad Mahrez while they have bought in Mateo Kovacic and Jasko Gvardiol. The latter is likely to not be eligible to play but the match will be important for Kovacic as he has the burden of replacing Ilkay Gundogan. Former Manchester City duo Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko along with Reiss Nelson are all out of contention due to injuries while Manchester City have their entire squad fit.

Manchester City have had a decent pre season with wins over Bayern Munich and Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos. Their last match however was a 1-2 loss against Atletico Madrid in Seoul. Arsenal on the other hand defeated Barcelona, MLS All Stars and Monaco(on penalties) but lost to Manchester United. Community Shield is often very end to end as it is the first game of the season. Both teams are likely to have defensive lapses but it should be a very entertaining game to watch. It could have a massive impact on the season for both teams.

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