Next Sunday, August 10, 2014 (7:00 AM Pacific), Arsenal and Manchester City will go head-to-head at the emblematic Wembley Stadium for the 92nd edition of the Community Shield trophy.
Although we are talking about two clubs with an enormous history, this will only be the second time they will measure forces at this particular competition. The first clash took place in 1934 and the Gunners completely destroyed Manchester City by 4-0.
The Uzbek Arsenal’s shareholder Alisher Usmanov recently claimed that this season marks the beginning of a new era for the Gunners, an era where the club will be aiming for trophies, and winning the Community Shield next Sunday would certainly be a good tonic for what’s to come this term.
Arsenal’s displays during the pre-season matches were somewhat inconsistent, as the team went from a quality performance against SL Benfica last Saturday to a bland display on the next day they faced AS Monaco at the Emirates Cup. The arrival of Alexis Sánchez from Barcelona will certainly bring some extra quality to the team’s attacking movements, but Arsene Wenger also wants to strengthen his midfield line and, according to the media, William Carvalho or Sami Khedira might be the next players in line to fill that vacant place in the team.
For next Sunday’s clash, the French manager will certainly remain faithful to his usual 4-2-3-1 formation or he might implement slight changes in the midfield line and try a more conservative 4-3-3 style with two centre midfielders with defensive tasks and another one acting as some sort of playmaker ahead of them.
As for Manchester City, the clash against Arsenal will present a good opportunity for them to repeat their 2012 deed, when they defeated Chelsea and lifted the trophy for the first time in forty years.
The Citizens’ boss, Manuel Pellegrini, managed to bring in some quality players to his already impressive setup of footballers. The arrival of FC Porto’s defensive midfielder, Mangala, will certainly offer the team the consistency they sometimes lacked back in defence last season, as he will surely work as the pendulum between the team’s back lines, something that Fernandinho wasn’t always able to do perfectly last term.
The Chilean head coach will probably maintain the 4-4-2 approach that was the base of the team’s success last term, with Fernando and Yaya Touré in the middle, and with the “reborn” Stevan Jovetic up in the front, alongside with the powerful Bosnian centre forward, Edin Dzeko.
Arsenal vs Manchester City Prediction
Although it is still early in the season to make long term predictions, Manchester City look slightly more consistent than Arsenal right now and thus they are favourites to win next Sunday’s match. This being said, the most likely outcome is 2-1 for Manchester City.
Arsenal vs Manchester City Lineups
Arsenal (4-2-3-1) – Szczesny – Debuchy – Koscielny – Chambers – Gibbs – Ramsey – Arteta – Sánchez – Wilshere – Campbell – Giroud
Head Coach: Arsene Wenger
Manchester City (4-4-2) – Hart – Sagna – Kompany – Rekik – Kolarov – Touré – Fernando – Silva – Nasri – Jovetic – Dzeko
Head Coach: Manuel Pellegrini
Arsenal vs Manchester City Television Schedule
The match will be televised on Fox Sports 1, on Sunday at 7:00 AM Pacific.
