It's been quite a while since Arsenal's beginning to the season has been met with such optimism. After seeing their premier players cherry-picked by the big spenders time and again, the Arsenal fans finally have the luxury of witnessing a quality squad filled with world-class players being built by Arsene Wenger at the Emirates.
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The game is set for a 3 pm BST (7.30 pm IST, 10 am ET) start with live coverage on Star Sports 4 in India. The match can also be watched via live streaming online in India HERE. Catch the action in the UK on BT Sport or HERE. Listen to the match HERE. Viewers in the US and Canada can watch the game on Fox Soccer and Sportsnet respectively, while the action can also be live streamed HERE or HERE. Australia viewers can watch the game on Setanta Sports or HERE. Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can live stream the game HERE, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can do the same HERE. Viewers in France can watch the Community Shield online HERE.
The first signs of whether this Arsenal side can indeed compete for the English Premier League title will be seen when they take on Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.
The traditional curtain raiser will pit last year's Premier League champions against the FA Cup holders and with neither team looking to treat this match as a mere friendly, some fireworks are certainly expected.
"I think it will be a good offensive game because both teams like to attack and it will be very interesting," Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky said. "We're looking forward to the game because it's a big game. I hope the fans and everyone will get a good preview before the league starts.
"I think the players see it as another trophy because it's at Wembley, I think the stadium will be sold out -- it will be a massive game. On one side it's a friendly but I think both sides will see it as another opportunity to win a trophy. We have great memories from Wembley and we would like another one."
While the Community Shield is not exactly treated as a major trophy, it will be quite something if Arsenal win their second piece of silverware in two consecutive games, after that big drought which extended all the way up to the 2005 FA Cup.
Over the last few seasons, it has been Manchester City who have delved into the transfer market bringing in players for mega bucks, but while the Citizens have been relatively quiet this summer, Arsenal have been on a spending spree.
The Gunners have already brought in Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy, David Ospina and Calum Chambers, and Wenger is expected to bring in a couple more before the transfer window closes for the summer.
All four of the new signings could feature against Manchester City on Sunday, but it will be Sanchez that all eyes will be on following his £32 million move from Barcelona.
At the other end, Arsenal will face up against a few familiar faces in Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri, with another one added to the mix. Bacary Sagna became the latest Arsenal player to make his move from North London to the North West of England, and the right-back, who will not play on Sunday as he regains his fitness following a holiday, will want to see his new side get the better of his former team.
The game will also have an added edge after Wenger questioned the signing of Frank Lampard, with the former Chelsea midfielder moving to the Etihad on loan after inking a deal with City's sister club New York City FC.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini was not too amused by Wenger's comments in which the Frenchman alluded that the club might be looking for ways to skirt Financial Fair Play Regulations, and, no doubt, the Chilean will want to make a statement of intent with victory over Arsenal.
"It is not a friendly match," Pellegrini said. "It is an important game against an important team in Arsenal.
"Maybe both teams will not arrive in our best moments to play in the competition because both teams have players that have just returned from the World Cup. I think it will be a very good game. It is important for both teams to win it so we will try to do it."
Team news: Arsenal: The German trio of Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker will only join up with the squad on Monday, while Theo Walcott is expected to return from injury by the end of the month. Abou Diaby suffered yet another injury in the preseason friendly against New York Red Bulls and is not expected to be available.
Manchester City: Pellegrini confirmed Sagna, Martin Demichelis, Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Lampard and Fernandinho will all miss the tie on Sunday, while Alvaro Negredo is set to be sidelined for the first two-three months of the season through injury.
"All the players that have arrived on Monday will not be ready to play on Sunday," Pellegrini revealed. "These players have had a special preseason for this week and it will continue into next week."
