The 2023/24 Premier League season curtain raiser will be held this weekend when league champions, Manchester City, face league runner-up Arsenal, at Wembley Stadium on Sunday for the Community Shield.
The two clubs will kick off the season with their rivalry, having pushed each other to the limit for the league title, last season.
Arsenal topped the Premier League table for the majority of the 2022/23 season but succumbed to the superior firepower of Pep Guardiola’s team in the crucial stages to finish second. City went on to win a League, FA Cup, and Champions League treble, while Arsenal settled for the consolation of a return to Champions League football after a six-year hiatus.
Both teams will clash at Wembley for the first silverware of the season on Sunday, live on SuperSport Football (DStv ch 205 and GOtv ch 61), at 4pm.
Arsenal lost three of their meetings with City last season, scoring two and conceding eight goals. Despite going into the match as underdogs, Arteta’s men will be buoyed by the fact that their last victory over City came at Wembley three years ago, when they defeated the Citizens 2-0, against all odds, in a FA Cup semi-final match.
The Gunners have also won the Community Shield in their last four attempts, including a 3-0 victory against Manchester City in the 2014 edition.
Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football’s annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup.
If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup, then the league runners-up provide the opposition. The fixture is recognised as a competitive super cup by The Football Association and UEFA.
