Manchester City vs Arsenal: Betting preview for Community Shield

The new season is almost upon us and the 2023/24 campaign curtain raiser will see treble winners Manchester City take on Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on August 6th.

Some feel this game is nothing more than a glorified friendly, but it’s importance seems to have strengthened in recent years with many now including the Community Shield in the list of ‘trophies’ available to win each season. Whatever your feelings are about this game, it’s usually competitive and gives us a good idea about how well the participating teams are prepared ahead of the new Premier League season.

That’s not always the case though, as we saw in 2022 when Liverpool thrashed Manchester City 3-1 in London. Many felt Jurgen Klopp’s men were genuine title contenders after that performance, however, Liverpool endured a torrid campaign that saw them miss out on the top four while City stormed to an historic treble.

Pep Guardiola will be hoping for a better performance from his players this time around as they prepare to face Arsenal at Wembley. City retained the Premier League title after fighting back against a talented young Arsenal side and they beat rivals Man Utd to win the FA Cup. However, they saved the best for last as City finally got their hands on that illusive European Cup after beating Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final to clinch the treble.

They’ll be looking to start the new season as they left off when they contest the Community Shield on August 6th. The Community Shield is traditionally played between the league and FA Cup winners, but since Man City won both competitions last season, the team that finished second – in this case Arsenal – get called up.

The Gunners were on course to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004 and sat top of the table for almost 250 days. However, a disastrous collapse in April saw them win just three points from four games. This handed the initiative to Man City and the Cityzens took full advantage to clinch their fifth league title in six years.

Mikel Arteta will be out for revenge and to prove his Arsenal side can go toe-to-toe with Man City once again this season when the two teams meet in the Community Shield in early August. Declan Rice is expected to start for the North Londoners after completing his record £105m move from West Ham and the midfielder will be hoping to impress on his debut.

Betting odds

Being the first ‘competitive’ game of the new season, there should be plenty of interest in the betting markets. Supporters from Africa can download Shabiki app in Kenya to access several markets and bet on the game, while fans in Europe can use numerous online bookmakers if they want to take a punt on the match.

Unsurprisingly, Man City are the 4/6 odds-on favourites to win the Community Shield. Arsenal are priced at 15/4 to win the game while the draw can be backed at 29/10.

• Man City 4/6
• Draw 29/10
• Arsenal 15/4

City blew Arsenal away in both league games last season and they’ll be confident of scoring at least twice this time around. The Gunners have invested well this summer and will hope to be far more competitive against their rivals at Wembley, so it’s going to be interesting to see how the game plays out.

Man City to win 2-1 looks a solid bet at odds of 13/2 but a 2-2 draw at 11/1 could also be tempting for those who feel the match will end in a draw and go to penalties. Both teams to score looks nailed on at odds of 13/20 and you can back Man City to win with BTTS at odds of 23/10.

There are virtually always plenty of goals when Manchester City and Arsenal meet and this game should be no exception. Over 2.5 match goals looks a formality at odds of 13/20, and many will be tempted to bet on over 3.5 at odds of 15/8.

For those who think Man City to run away with a comfortable victory again, they could be tempted to look at the handicap market. You can bet on Man City to win -2 at odds of 5/1, which would give an excellent return if Guardiola’s men blow Arsenal away.