FA Community Shield preview: Arsenal meets Manchester City in EPL curtain-raiser

The Premier League season is nearly upon us as reigning champions Arsenal will host Coventry City next Friday in the opening match.

But that’s the main course. The appetizer comes in the form of Sunday's annual FA Community Shield, the ceremonial curtain raiser on the English soccer campaign.

Here’s what you need to know about this year’s showdown between Arsenal and Manchester City from the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales (Sportsnet One, Sportsnet+, 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT):

The FA Community Shield is an annual match contested between the defending Premier League champions (Arsenal) and the reigning FA Cup holders (Manchester City).

Arsenal won the 2025-26 Premier League title with a seven-point advantage over second-place Manchester City, which defeated Chelsea in the FA Cup final in May.

Manchester City took four out of a possible six points from Arsenal in the Premier League last season, thanks to a 1-1 road draw and a 2-1 home win.

Sunday’s match is a straight knockout final, with no replays, unlike in the FA Cup.

If the score is tied after 90 minutes of regulation, the game will go straight to penalty kicks to determine the winner. No extra time will be played.

Trying to replace Pep Guardiola as Manchester City manager is a Herculean task, given that the Spaniard won all there was to win during his decade in charge of the Blues. But that’s the challenge facing Enzo Maresca, who’ll take charge of Manchester City for the first time in a competitive match on Sunday following Guardiola’s resignation earlier this year.

Maresca boasts a decent resume, having won the Championship with Leicester City and a UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea. But this represents a big step in the Italian’s career as he’s taking over one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"When (Guardiola) started in Spain, everyone wanted to play like Barcelona. He moved to Germany (and) everyone wanted to play like Bayern (Munich). He came to England and everyone wanted to play like City. Someone asked me if it's an impossible job to follow him. Maybe, but at the same time it's a privilege," Maresca said.

Bruno Guimarães joined Arsenal via transfer last week for a reported £75 million (US$87 million) from Newcastle United after scoring 31 goals and tallying 31 assists in all competitions for the Magpies across five seasons. The Brazilian midfielder featured for Arsenal in a friendly against Italian side Como on Wednesday, but will he be in the lineup for the Gunners in Sunday’s Community Shield?

"We’ll have to see. He’s only had three training sessions, but he looked good,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. "He was really pushing to play some minutes (on Wednesday), get his debut and get the feeling of playing in front of our supporters immediately. He’s a player that will make us better, without a doubt."

Guimarães should offer Arsenal’s midfield a big boost in central midfield for the upcoming Premier League season, but his participation in Sunday’s game remains in doubt — he had a short pre-season due to playing for Brazil at the World Cup as well as transfer negotiations between Arsenal and Newcastle.