Английн хөлбөмбөгийн улирлыг нээдэг уламжлалт Коммунити Шилдийн тоглолт Кардифф хотын Принсипалити цэнгэлдэх хүрээлэнд ням гарагт болно.
Манчестер Ситиг дасгалжуулах хүндхэн үүргийг хүлээж авсан Энцо Мареска өөрийн шинэ багийг Микель Артетагийн удирдлагад буй Арсеналын эсрэг удирдан гаргана. Энэхүү тоглолт нь Премьер лигийн аварга болон ФА цомын эздийн хоорондох сонирхолтой тулаан болох бөгөөд багууд улирлын өмнөх бэлтгэл болон бүрэлдэхүүний өөрчлөлтөө дүгнэх боломж юм.
Арсеналын хувьд зуны солилцооны цонхоор Бруно Гимараешийг багтаа нэгтгэж, Пьеро Инкапие, Иллан Меслие нарыг албан ёсоор эгнээндээ нэгтгэсэн ч зарим тоглогчдоо зарж чадаагүй нь хүндрэлтэй байна. Манчестер Ситигийн хувьд Эллиот Андерсоныг багийн түүхэн дээд үнээр элсүүлж, бүрэлдэхүүнээ шинэчлэхээр ажиллаж байгаа бөгөөд Мареска Азийн аялан тоглолтын үеэр үндсэн бүрэлдэхүүний ихэнх хэсэгтэй санаа бодлоо хуваалцаж амжжээ.
Хоёр багийн хоорондох өрсөлдөөн сүүлийн жилүүдэд улам бүр ширүүсэж, талбай дээрх болон удирдлагын түвшинд ч хүйтэн хөндий харилцаатай байгаа нь тоглолтын ач холбогдлыг нэмэгдүүлж байна. Арсенал Коммунити Шилдэд Манчестер Ситиг хожиж байсан түүхтэй хэдий ч энэ удаагийн тоглолтод хоёр тал ялалтын төлөө бүхнээ зориулахаа илэрхийлжээ.
Тоглолтыг Уэмбли цэнгэлдэх хүрээлэнгийн хуваарийн зөрчлийн улмаас Кардифф хотод шилжүүлэн зохион байгуулж байгаа юм. Шинжээчид тоглолтын үр дүнг Манчестер Сити 2-1 харьцаагаар хожих эсвэл Арсенал торгуулийн цохилтын цувралаар ялалт байгуулна хэмээн таамаглаж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
In a parallel universe, it might be Mikel Arteta succeeding the departed Pep Guardiola as Manchester City manager this season.
But it is another coach who worked under the Catalan at City, former Leicester and Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who has been entrusted with the daunting task of taking over and continuing the success enjoyed at the Etihad Stadium over the past decade with Guardiola.
Is the Italian the right man for the job? We will find out this season, and we may get a first indication of what his version of City will look like when they take on Arteta’s Arsenal in the Community Shield today (Sunday) at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
This is the annual summer meeting of the previous campaign’s Premier League champions (Arsenal, in this case) and FA Cup winners (City) and is considered the traditional curtain-raiser for the new English season.
Does the Community Shield count as a major trophy? It depends who you ask, but this game has historically been viewed as a friendly, albeit one with silverware at the end of it — even if it takes a penalty shootout to decide the winners.
Arsenal writer Nnamdi Onyeagwara and City correspondent Sam Lee discuss what we can expect from the game.
How has your club’s summer been?
Onyeagwara: Arsenal fans have spent the past three months revelling (and rightfully so) in the fact they finally got over the line and are Premier League champions again. People working within the club have been attempting to strengthen the squad to ensure there is not another 22-year wait for their next domestic title.
Piero Hincapie’s loan move from Bayer Leverkusen a year ago was made permanent and Illan Meslier has joined on a free transfer after leaving Leeds United. Leandro Trossard has moved to Besiktas and been replaced by Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge. Then there was the blockbuster signing of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United.
However, the champions have been unsuccessful in their pursuit of Morgan Rogers (joined Chelsea) and Vinicius Junior (signed a new contract at Real Madrid). They have also struggled to sell some of their fringe players, as Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira, among others, are still at the club.
All in all, a celebratory summer in north London, but also a frustrating one.
How does Bruno Guimaraes fit in at Arsenal?
JJ Bull
Lee: Slow, so far. Granted, City have made a club-record signing in Elliot Anderson, and he is expected to make a huge difference, but everything else is pending. Rodri could go, Enzo Fernandez could arrive. Tijjani Reijnders could go, Ayyoub Bouaddi could arrive. Savinho could go, a fellow winger could come in.
Man City interested in Enzo Fernandez
Sam Lee
About 80 per cent of City’s existing first-team squad went on the pre-season tour to Hong Kong and South Korea, meaning Maresca has been able to get his ideas across to most of the players. The rest, including Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku and the England players, have been getting up to speed since Wednesday. A lot more is to come.
How much does this match matter to your club?
Onyeagwara: Over the years, the Charity Shield/Community Shield has been important to Arsenal.
After ending a nine-year trophy drought with the FA Cup in 2014, they continued the positive vibes that had consumed the club that summer with a 3-0 win against City in this fixture a few months later.
The 1-0 defeat of Chelsea the following August saw Arsene Wenger secure his first victory over managerial rival Jose Mourinho at the 14th attempt. The Frenchman later talked about how it felt to “get that hurdle out of the way”.
The 2020 win against Liverpool, via a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw, was Arteta’s second trophy in charge, having taken charge in December 2019. Twelve days later, he was promoted from head coach to manager.
Arsenal’s most recent Community Shield meeting with City in the summer of 2023 saw them start new signings Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber against the team who pipped them to the title a few months earlier. It was another shootout victory for Arteta and company, which provided a psychological boost as they got one over on a fierce rival.
As with that game, today will not be seen as a “friendly” in north London. This is emphasised by Viktor Gyokeres’ comments after the pre-season match against Borussia Dortmund last weekend.
“(The game) against City? A friendly?” the Sweden international said. “I don’t know what other people think, but we want to win that game, of course; for sure. When you win titles, you get confidence, you get a boost with everything that comes with it.”
Lee: The rivalry with Arsenal has really exploded recently, and that will add extra spice.
City are well accustomed to playing the Community Shield, and cup finals, at Wembley, to the extent that some victories there can feel routine. But the manner of the Carabao Cup final defeat of Arsenal there in March — City were considered the underdogs — meant that it was one of the most memorable trips of the many they have had to that stadium in the past 15 or so years.
This being a Community Shield, it inevitably matters less to supporters than other competitions, and there is even the idea of the Community Shield curse (just eight of its 34 winners in the Premier League era have gone on to win the title that season), so it is probably one of those fickle ones: it doesn’t matter if you lose, but it’s very nice if you win. But it’s not especially important either way.
Erling Haaland shows City fans the Carabao Cup last season (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
How do your club view today’s opponents?
Onyeagwara: The Athletic has previously reported that, in the boardrooms, Arsenal and City do not get on. That feeling is mirrored between the two sets of fans.
After Maresca’s departure from Stamford Bridge in January, Arteta said: “I really like Enzo as a person, as a professional. I think he’s done a terrific job at Chelsea.”
But unlike the mutual respect those two seem to share, Arsenal and City supporters do not get along. Not in the stands, nor on social media.
For example, the ‘bottle’ shenanigans that started during their Premier League match at the Etihad in April. Bukayo Saka even referred to the social media storm that was caused by those images in interviews following Arsenal’s league title victory a month later.
Then there are the mini-stories: Haaland vs Gabriel, Myles Lewis-Skelly vs Haaland, how Arsenal pipped City to the signing of Rice from West Ham three summers ago, City returning the favour with the signing of Brazilian defender Vitor Reis in January 2025, Cherki juggling the ball and taunting Arsenal fans at the Carabao Cup final, Arsenal fans’ disdain for Rodri due to comments from the midfielder after City’s title win in 2024. The list goes on.
Lee: At boardroom level, relations are not especially warm, and it is fair to say it is a similar story on the pitch. Arsenal’s style of play has not won many admirers at City, either under Guardiola or now with Maresca in charge, and their string of title battles over recent years means this is probably the biggest — in terms of being the most relevant — rivalry in English football right now.
What starting XIs can we expect?
Onyeagwara: With Saka and Rice only just having returned from their post-World Cup breaks and yet to play a minute of pre-season action, I do not expect them to be risked. Other late returnees after the tournament, such as Martin Odegaard, Gabriel, David Raya and Noni Madueke, have featured in the friendlies, so I expect them to be in line to start.
Don’t be surprised if you see cameos from the likes of Ethan Nwaneri, Max Dowman and Marli Salmon, who have all played significant minutes in pre-season and impressed when called upon. I also think we will see a first Arsenal start for Guimaraes in midfield. William Saliba misses out with the back injury that ended his World Cup.
Possible XI (4-2-1-3): Raya; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Hincapie; Guimaraes, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard; Madueke, Havertz, Tzolis.
Lee: City will likely throw in some of their late-returning World Cup stars, but the majority of the team in Cardiff will probably be made up of those who went on the tour to Asia.
Possible XI (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Anderson; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku, Haaland.
What is your match prediction?
Onyeagwara: Arsenal have won all three of their Charity Shield/Community Shield matches against Manchester City, but I think that run will end on Sunday. City 2-1 Arsenal.
Lee: Arsenal to win on penalties — did you see the state of City’s spot kicks in the friendly against Inter in Hong Kong?
Why is this year’s Community Shield in Cardiff, not at Wembley?
This game is usually played at Wembley but was moved in March because of a schedule clash with The Weeknd’s concerts at England’s national stadium.
The 74,000-capacity Principality Stadium (formerly known as the Millennium Stadium) hosted this fixture six times between 2001 and 2006 during Wembley’s renovation works.
How can I watch?
The Community Shield is being broadcast live on TNT Sports/HBO Max in the UK. In the United States, the game will be shown live on ESPN. Kick-off is 3pm BST/10am ET/7am PT.
