Usually when Chelsea play Arsenal, the focus is on the two managers – Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger -- and the fact that there is absolutely no love lost between them. However, for this Community Shield clash between the two London rivals, the buildup spotlight, at least, will be on Petr Cech, the goalkeeper who moved from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates this summer after spending 11 years at Chelsea.
Mourinho is clearly not too happy with the fact that the Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich sanctioned the transfer against his wishes, but it is what it is now, and it will be up to the Premier League champions to prove that they still have just as much strength in depth as last season in order to be able to come away sparkling at the end of what will be another gruelling campaign.
For that, a win over Arsenal, expected to be serious title rivals this time, will be a good start, and as much as Mourinho might want to play down the importance of beating the Frenchman in any match, let alone a Premier League curtain raiser, there is little doubt that it will irk the Portuguese if Wenger finally breaks the Mourinho duck.
"I just want my club to get the best possible results," Mourinho said. "Arsenal doesn't matter, it doesn't matter the manager, I just want my club to get the best possible results, that's the only thing that matters.
"In football you can win or lose, or draw, and in this case you have to be ready for everything. I never made my victories over Arsenal an explosion of happiness or special pride. I do not make a drama if one day we lose."
Lose is something Wenger has certainly experienced quite a bit against Mourinho, having never been able to beat the Portuguese, even if there have been a fair few draws in there. While this Community Shield match will not exactly count, considering it is a bit of a friendly, the Frenchman will know a win could act as a huge psychological boost going into the new season.
"It's a game that is important but it is still preparation," Wenger said. "We want to win it and overall it can just give us that little bit more confidence before we go into the season. You know, it will not be a friendly as it is like that and it is good like that.
"We have to accept that every game is decided and judged as definite. But you know that in real life it is not like that. The tribunal is out there and will draw conclusions from Sunday.
"But no matter [what result], positive or negative, we have to continue our way and focus on ourselves."
Arsenal have certainly looked good in preseason, but then they did pretty well in last year's Community Shield as well, beating Manchester City, before getting off to a horrible start, a start to the season which rendered their chances of catching up with Chelsea next to impossible.
This time, consistency will be key for Arsenal, and a win over the champions will certainly give them more belief they can stay the course.
FA Community Shield Schedule: Sunday, 2 August: Chelsea vs Arsenal (3 pm BST, 7.30 pm IST, 10 am ET) at Wembley Stadium in London.
