When the ball kicks off on Sunday for the Community Shield between Manchester City and Arsenal, it will be the first look between teams with major shifts during an offseason that feels like it passed in the blink of an eye. The Pep Guardiola era at City has come to an end with Enzo Maresca taking the reins, and while Maresca may be a former Guardiola assistant, just like Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, the similarities end there.

How to watch Arsenal vs. Manchester City

Date: Sunday, August 16 | Time: 10 a.m. ET
Location: Principality Stadium — Cardiff, Wales
TV: ESPN | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Odds: Arsenal +160; Draw +230; Manchester City +175

Maresca isn’t as cavalier in his approach, favoring more of a rigid build-up, but in adding Elliot Anderson, City will have plenty of dynamism under him. On paper, while it may not look like City did much business during the summer transfer window, as most of their additions have been ones that improve squad depth, that’s where what they’ve paid for their additions needs to come into play. At a club-record signing at just over $135 million, if Anderson was compared to leagues around the world, he would be the 10th highest-spending league, coming in just behind Portugal and ahead of Belgium.

While that’ll set high expectations for Anderson, with Nottingham Forest, he already developed into a star midfielder in the Premier League before also taking the pitch for England at the World Cup. Even during a time when Barcelona are launching bids for Rodri, with Anderson, the future of the City midfield will be in good hands. Anderson is able to get stuck in defensively and push the ball forward where City have the most dangerous striker in the world, Erling Haaland, waiting for service.

But Arsenal also added to their own midfield in a big way, signing Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United alongside winger Christos Tzolis. Both squads had plenty of players at the World Cup, which will shift how they approach the beginning of the season, but with how tight the Premier League has been for each and with Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United all chasing, they can’t afford to drop points early. Which is why, despite this game being more of a preseason match when these two teams meet, it’s about the psychological battle. 

An Arsenal win can start the Maresca era off at City with a wobble, while City have a chance to announce themselves as being back to the true title contenders. It’s much more than your average Community Shield, and that’s just what makes it the perfect appetizer to a full slate of Premier League soccer that is just around the corner. Two Guardiola disciples will enter the Principality Stadium with a chance to win a trophy, but only one can exit with the shield.