Arsenal v Manchester City predictions, betting tips and odds

Where to watch Arsenal v Manchester City

ITV1, 4pm Sunday

Best bet

Arsenal draw no bet
1pt 12-5 bet365

Arsenal v Manchester City odds

Arsenal 18-5
Manchester City 3-4
Draw 3-1

Odds correct at time of publishing

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Arsenal v Manchester City team news

Arsenal
Gabriel Jesus (knee) is out and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) is unlikely to be risked. Mohamed Elneny, Reiss Nelson and Albert Sambi Lokonga are injured.

Manchester City
Kevin De Bruyne is still recovering from a hamstring injury while Nathan Ake is a slight doubt. Josko Gvardiol's deal is unlikely to be finalised in time for him to play.

Arsenal v Manchester City predictions

Manchester City asserted their superiority over Arsenal when the teams last met in the Premier League, thumping the Gunners 4-1 in April, but the treble winners may not be at their ruthless best in the Community Shield.

City should have won even more comprehensively at the Etihad Stadium, where Erling Haaland had five shots on target before finally beating Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in the 94th minute.

This time last year, however, Haaland wasn't at the races in the 3-1 Community Shield defeat to Liverpool. The Sun described his debut as a "horror show" and The Guardian reported that he was "upstaged by Darwin Nunez" although the striker didn't let those bad reviews get to him, scoring 14 goals in his first eight league appearances.

City's listless Community Shield display against Liverpool wasn't a one-off as they lost 1-0 to Leicester in the 2021 fixture when goalkeeper Zack Steffen and youngsters Cole Palmer and Samuel Edozie were in the starting 11.

Last term, with the challenge of a mid-season World Cup, Guardiola banked on bringing his team to the boil in the second half of the campaign and his plan came together perfectly.

City overhauled Arsenal in the title race, wrapping up the league with three games to spare despite having been outsiders of the two at the start of April, and went on to win the FA Cup and Champions League finals.

The treble winners may well be a touch undercooked for the Community Shield again, with Kevin De Bruyne still working his way back from the hamstring injury he sustained against Inter, so they are worth opposing at odds-on.

The Gunners spent 248 days at the top of the table in 2022-23 but there was no denying the gulf between them and City, who knocked them out of the FA Cup and won their league meetings 3-1 and 4-1.

However, the summer signings of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber have prompted bookmakers to cut Arsenal from 3-1 to 9-4 to win the league without City and they look a tempting price with the draw no bet at Wembley.

While the Gunners had the best away record in the top flight last season, City were far less fluent on the road. Only 34 of their 94 league goals came away from the Etihad and they scored just four times in their last six Champions League trips, including the final in Istanbul.

Perhaps significantly, after last month's 5-3 friendly defeat to Arsenal, Barcelona coach Xavi admitted: "They were at a very high level of intensity and rhythm that we weren't expecting."

Manager Mikel Arteta, who captained Arsenal to a 3-0 win over City in the 2014 Community Shield, will demand a similarly committed approach at Wembley and his side could prove dangerous underdogs.

Key stat

Arsenal have been victorious in 16 of their 23 Community Shield appearances

Probable teams

Arsenal (4-3-3): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney; Odegaard, Rice, Partey; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli
Subs: Tomiyasu, Timber, Havertz, Trossard, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Jorginho

Manchester City (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Stones, Rodri; Silva, Kovacic, Foden, Grealish; Haaland
Subs: Palmer, Lewis, Alvarez, Laporte, Phillips, Cancelo, Ake