FA COMMUNITY SHIELD: New season starts as the last one finished with Arsenal chasing City
KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTING —- Fans of champions and challengers will be eagerly seeking clues to the shape of the new Premier League campaign from Sunday’s FA Community Shield at Wembley between Manchester City and Arsenal.
The curtain-raiser to the new season is traditionally contested by league champions and FA Cup winners but since Pep Guardiola’s City won both – as well as the Champions League – Arsenal were selected after having finished runners-up in the league.
Guardiola always says he considers the Shield as a “must-win” event. Greatest interest will focus on how City’s manager fills the midfield slot in midfield left vacant by the departure of Ilkay Gundogan. Bernardo Silva is one possibility though new signing Mateo Kovacic and England midfielder Kalvyn Phillips would provide more defensive solidity behind Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden or Julian Alvarez.
The other major departure, that of Riyad Mahrez, appears to offer Foden an obvious opportunity to secure a regular place in the City attack.
Every option is possible since City expect to have a fully fit squad on duty with the possible exception of Kevin de Bruyne. The Belgium midfielder is still recovering slowly from a hamstring injury sustained in the Champions League final in June.
Guardiola may consider it unwise to rush new £77m defender Josko Gvardiol into action so soon after his move from RB Leipzig’s ‘Premier League nursery.’
Gabriel Jesus blow
No such selection luxuries for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, Guardiola’s former assistant. Gabriel Jesus is out after knee surgery, Reiss Nelson and Ex-City wingback Oleksandr Zinchenko are doubtful while record signing Declan Rice suffered a minor injury in training and missed last week’s win over Barcelona.
Arteta may prefer to hold back his £105m midfielder in readiness for the Gunners’ Premier League opener at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday week.
City have won the Shield six times and finished runners-up in each of the past two years. They were also runners-up on their first appearance. That was back in 1934 when they lost 4:0 to Arsenal.
City’s team that day included Scotland halfback Matt Busby, later neighbours United’s first great manager. As for Arsenal, the 1934 Shield was a second trophy for the Football League champions under the management of George Allison. The former journalist and BBC radio commentator had been appointed after the death of the legendary Herbert Chapman 10 months earlier.
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