What any team can lose after reaching their biggest goal is the desire to win.
Arsenal has waited 22 years to win the 14th national championship and is even more eager after three consecutive seasons of second place. Physical and mental impacts are very large, reflected in Declan Rice's fatigue, Bukayo Saka's unstable performance at the 2026 World Cup and William Saliba's back injury.
Therefore, the Community Shield match with Manchester City at Cardiff will be the first test for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta needs to assess whether the Premier League title will add motivation or make his students somewhat reduce their desire to win.
The new season is already unpredictable. 9 out of 20 Premier League teams changed coaches in the summer. For the first time in 40 years, the Premier League no longer has Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola on the coaching bench. Even Arsenal, where Arteta is the most senior coach, also has question marks.
On the opposite side, Man City is entering a completely different era after a decade under Guardiola. Enzo Maresca is assigned the task of maintaining Man City's position, but he must take over a team that is in turmoil. Bernardo Silva has left, Tijjani Reijnders is preparing to move to Al-Qadsiah and Rodri's future is still unclear.
Community Shield will be an opportunity for Maresca to show the new face of Man City. His playing style may have many similarities with Guardiola, but the bigger challenge lies in creating his own identity after his predecessor built an extremely successful empire.
Rodri is a special problem. Barcelona is still pursuing the Spanish midfielder and if he leaves, Man City will have to find a replacement. Elliot Anderson, a £116 million contract, is expected to become an important part of the future, but he alone can hardly fill the void left by Rodri.
Phil Foden is also facing an important moment. After being voted Premier League Player of the Year 2024, the English midfielder is facing difficulties in form and has only started 11 matches in the last two seasons. The departure of leaders like Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Guardiola further forces Foden to prove his worth in Man City's new face.
Arsenal also has their own problems to solve. After Leandro Trossard left, their left-wing attack needs to be strengthened. Christos Tzolis, a £34 million contract from Club Brugge, will have the opportunity to prove his ability. Morgan Rogers and Vinicius Junior were once linked up but both did not become Arsenal players.
Myles Lewis-Skelly is also a noteworthy case. The 19-year-old player impressed in the pre-season period when many key players had not returned after the World Cup. However, his future is still questionable. Lewis-Skelly's celebration of the goal against Como by creating a heart shape and touching the Arsenal badge shows that he still wants to affirm his position at Emirates.
The match at Cardiff will have many things to expect. Arsenal must prove that the championship does not reduce the desire, while Man City needs to show that they can live well after the Guardiola period.
However, Community Shield is still just an opening match. Since 2018, no team has won the English Super Cup and won the Premier League title. What happened at Cardiff may reveal strengths, expose weaknesses, but it is not enough to judge the season of Arsenal or Man City.
