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The first piece of silverware for the new season is on the line when Arsenal take on Manchester City in the Community Shield at the Principality Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners lifted their first Premier League title in 22 years last season to set up the showdown with FA Cup winners Man City, who also beat their opponents in the Carabao Cup final.
While Mikel Arteta is ever-present in North London, Pep Guardiola has left the Cityzens after a decade of unmatched success, and he has been replaced by another of his former assistants in Enzo Maresca.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Arsenal vs. Manchester City key stats
- Only Manchester United (21) have won or shared more Community Shields than Arsenal (17).
- Arsenal have won on their last five Community Shield appearances.
- Man City have only won seven of 16 Community Shield appearances (nine).
Arsenal vs. Manchester City preview: Gunners to win more silverware?
Arsenal vs Man City — Tale of the Tape
| Arsenal | vs | Man City |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Position | 2nd |
| 85 | Points | 78 |
| 71 | Goals For | 77 |
| 27 | Goals Against | 35 |
| 19 | Clean Sheets | 16 |
After finally getting one over his nemesis Guardiola, Arteta is aiming to secure back-to-back titles for Arsenal for the first time in the Premier League era.
They have strengthened the squad with the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis, who will be hoping to make their competitive debuts for the Gunners here.
Arsenal are still active in the market with injuries to key defenders Jurrien Timber and William Saliba, while a superstar attacker could also be on their radar after missing out on Vinicius Junior.
Nonetheless, the North Londoners will want to get off to the perfect start in their title defence by beating their nearest challengers in the Community Shield.
Indeed, Guardiola's Man City fell short by seven points in the end, although they did win both domestic cups.
Maresca is now tasked with continuing his legacy, and he has been helped with the £116m signing of Elliot Anderson.
Plenty of key players have also returned from World Cup duty, including superstar striker Erling Haaland.
It is unclear whether he will be fit enough to start though, similar to Arsenal's returning trio of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi.
Arsenal vs. Manchester City form guide & betting tips
| Arsenal | vs | Man City |
|---|---|---|
WWLLW |
Form | DLLWW |
| 11 | Goals For | 9 |
| 8 | Goals Against | 6 |
N/A |
Community Shield | N/A |
Whispers predicts: Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City (Arsenal to win on penalties)
Arsenal are 13/8 (2.63) favourites to win, and 17/20 (1.85) favourites to lift the trophy.
The Gunners won two penalty shootouts in pre-season, while Man City lost one, so Arsenal to win on penalties at 5/1 (6.00) could be worth a punt.
In terms of other bets, BTTS – Yes at 8/11 (1.73) also appeals, having come through in all but one of both teams' pre-season friendlies.
Despite missing the whole of pre-season, we are expecting Haaland to get plenty of minutes for Man City in preparation for the new season.
He scored in both Premier League fixtures against Arsenal last campaign, and so we fancy Haaland to score anytime at 8/5 (2.60) as our final pick.
> BTTS – Yes at 8/11 (1.73) | Likelihood: Probable
> Haaland to score anytime at 8/5 (2.60) | Likelihood: Possible
> Arsenal to win on penalties at 5/1 (6.00) | Likelihood: Outsider