Arsenal Vs Manchester City

July might have been a weather washout, but don’t worry, the football season will be with us very soon! It all begins, as ever, with the Community Shield – which anybody over 35 still probably calls the Charity Shield.

This year’s traditional season curtain-raiser will feature the two best teams from last season’s Premier League race – treble winners Manchester City up against runners-up Arsenal. The competition has been running in its current form – League Champions versus FA Cup winners since 1930 – but given the fact that Manchester City won both last season, they will play the team who finished second in the league. It’s the first chance for two of the top sides to lay down a
marker for the season ahead, and although it’s not a trophy with the same kudos as the others they will compete for, Pep Guardiola has referred to it as “the first final of the season”, so we can expect that he will take it seriously, and aim to take the shield back to the Etihad for the first time since 2019.

Arsenal have won the competition more times than any club apart from Manchester United, with 16 victories in their 23 appearances. The last time they took it home was in 2020, after a penalty shoot-out victory over Liverpool. City have only won it 6 times from 14 appearances, the last of which was a 3-1 defeat against Liverpool last season – a result that clearly had no bearing on the way the Premier League title race would unfold, given Liverpool’s failure to finish inside the top 4 for the first time since 2016.

Both sides have already seen changes in personnel since the conclusion of last season, with Arsenal adding expensive signings Dutch international Jurrien Timber, England midfielder Declan Rice, and Kai Havertz from London neighbours Chelsea. As for Manchester City – they’ve also raided Stamford Bridge to add Mateo Kovacic, but lost captain Ilkay Gundogan to Barcelona, with doubts also over the future of Kyle Walker, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva as the transfer window gathers pace.

So in reality this match will be the last buffer between pre-season and the start of the Premier League, but it is a showpiece occasion at Wembley Stadium, and an opportunity to see how these two giants of the English game will match up for the long season ahead.

This match, the 101st Community Shield, kicks of at 4pm on Sunday August 6th, and maybe, just
maybe, the sun will be shining in North West London…

If you are interested in enjoying this battle between two giants, please contact us on 01454 201210 or send us an enquiry.

CONTACT THE TEAM

Give Us a call on 01454 201210 or email enquiries@circuithospitality.com to see how we can help you.