Arsenal will get the opportunity to take on Manchester City in the Community Shield later this year after the latter claimed the FA Cup.
The Gunners led the Premier League for huge chunks of the season but failed in holding off Pep Guardiola's side, who put together a stellar run to overhaul the north Londoners, eventually winning the title by five points. Arsenal's form did nosedive in the final weeks, although optimism is high at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta's side finished without a trophy and, usually, those who finish second don't get the chance to compete in the season's curtain raiser - the Community Shield - for that achievement alone. Had United won the FA Cup then it would be them taking on City in August.
However, City's capture of the Premier League and the FA Cup means the side who finished second in the league will fill in, allowing Arsenal a route into the one-off game.
City are only the third team in the last 20 years to win both the league and the FA Cup, following on from Chelsea in 2010 and themselves in 2019, which has meant the Community Shield has had to turn to those who finished as the league's runners-up, in this case, Arsenal.
When is the Community Shield?
Next season's curtain raiser will take place on Sunday August 6 and returns to Wembley after a year away. At the start of this season Liverpool saw off City at Leicester's King Power Stadium due to the Women's Euros final being at Wembley on the same weekend.
The Gunners will aim to win the first piece of silverware of the campaign for the first time since 2020, when they beat Liverpool on penalties. Arsenal have emerged victorious in their past four Community Shield matches, including a 3-0 win over City in 2014.
Arsenal's Man City struggles
In recent years however the Gunners have struggled to get anything from games against City. This season they lost all three games, two in the league and one in the FA Cup, with Guardiola's side scoring eight times and conceding just twice.
Arsenal in fact have not beaten those from the blue half of Manchester in the league since 2015. They've managed several FA Cup victories, but have also been on the receiving end of some hammerings, including a 5-0 defeat only last season. City have won their last 12 games on the bounce against Arsenal in the league and will look to keep that dominance going.
