Community Shield Information: Manchester City v Arsenal

We’re not far off this season’s Community Shield encounter between Manchester City and Arsenal, due to take place at Wembley on Sunday August 10th, and in order for you to be prepared ahead of the day, here is all the information you need.

This year’s fixture will be the 92nd FA Community Shield, a match contested by the champions of the previous Premier League campaign and the winners of the FA Cup. The first fixture was played over 100 years ago, replacing the Sheriff of London Charity Shield. Arsenal have won the trophy outright on eleven previous occasions, whilst Manchester City have tasted Community Shield glory four times, most recently in 2012 after defeating Chelsea.

Both sides have been active in this summer’s transfer window, the Gunners recruiting the hugely exciting Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona. The Chilean will add sparkle to the Arsenal side, lifting the goalscoring burden from Olivier Giroud. In defence, Mathieu Debuchy has arrived from Newcastle, replacing the departed Bacary Sagna who, ironically, has joined Arsenal’s Community Shield opponents, Manchester City. Alongside Sagna, the Blues have brought in experienced goalkeeper Willy Caballero to provide competition for Joe Hart, and Fernando has made the move from FC Porto and will feature prominently in a holding midfield role. Eliaquim Mangala is reportedly on the verge of signing for Manchester City to offer an extra option at the heart of defence.

The venue for this meeting, Wembley Stadium, is English football’s standout ground and it is well worth browsing the official map of the ground here. Manchester City have been regular visitors over the past few years, competing in a number of FA Cup and Community Shield encounters with mixed results. The official website also possesses an interactive ‘view from my seat’ feature, which shows you a photograph of your view of the pitch when you scroll over your seat number.

In terms of travelling to Wembley from Manchester, there are heavily disrupted train services on the Sunday, making it a nightmare to go from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston in the morning, and journeys back after the game are even more disrupted. One option would be to travel to London on the Saturday before the game and stay overnight, before making your way to the ground on the day of the game. National Express have one coach on Sunday morning, departing Manchester at 8am and arriving at Wembley Stadium at 12:30pm. They also have one coach making the return journey following the completion of the game but tickets are in high demand.

If you were to stay over in London, either the night before or of the game, then two hotels in excellent locations have very reasonable rates. The Holiday Inn London Brent Cross Hotel is not too far from Wembley Stadium, nor is the Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum. Both would be practical choices for those who wanted somewhere well-situated and affordable to stay over.

Other events taking place in the capital on the weekend of the Community Shield include Prudential RideLondon, an annual two-day festival of cycling. Billy Elliot: The Musical is open to see at the Victoria Palace Theatre, whilst the Prince Edward Theatre welcomes the public to Jersey Boys. In addition, the iconic landmark of Battersea Power Station plays host to a summer of film, food and fun and is only open until the August so be sure not to miss it.

Feel free to comment below if you’re heading to the game. What do you think the score will be? Which players are you most looking forward to seeing?

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