During his first few years in England, Pep Guardiola was befuddled by the significance of the season’s curtain raiser.

„The Community Shield?“ Manchester City’s manager asked in 2019. „Nobody counts it, that’s the question, I would like an answer.“

Having won its equivalent with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Guardiola said: „In Spain and Germany it’s important. Why play if it doesn’t count? We could have longer holidays.“

City have contested the traditional season opener so often, Guardiola should have a better idea of the game’s importance by now.

The reigning Premier League and FA Cup champions will line up for their fifth Community Shield in six years against top-flight runners-up Arsenal on Sunday 6 August. However, that will not be the first time that these clubs have met on this stage.

---

---

1934 – Arsenal 4-0 Man City

Guardiola will meet his former assistant Mikel Arteta at Wembley Stadium in the Community Shield this year but it has not always been staged at a neutral venue.

As league champions, Arsenal had the bonus of hosting FA Cup winners Manchester City at Highbury for the 1934 Community Shield. Wilf Wild was in the early stages of constructing the side that would claim City’s first-ever top-flight championship three years later but had not yet ironed out all of the kinks.

In the second half of the previous season, the only match which City won away from home was the FA Cup final against Portsmouth.

Only 10,000 turned up for the match on a rainy Wednesday night but it was enough of a crowd to incite City’s travel jitters as Arsenal romped to a 4-0 win.

---

2014 – Arsenal 3-0 Man City

Arsenal had gone nine long seasons without winning a trophy by 2014. Then they claimed two pieces of silverware in as many games. Three months after winning the FA Cup, Arsene Wenger steered the Gunners to a 3-0 victory over the reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

Barely three weeks after the World Cup final, club football had returned and City were far groggier even though Arsenal boasted one of the stars of the tournament. Alexis Sanchez played a role in both of his new side’s two first-half goals which Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey converted.

Olivier Giroud replaced Sanchez during the interval and got on the scoresheet himself. A quick glance towards goal revealed that City’s new keeper Willy Caballero „was a bit too much forward from his line“ – in the striker’s own words – giving Giroud the idea to loop a shot from 25 yards into the net.

---

Arsenal have won the Community Shield on 16 occasions over the years. Only Manchester United (21), have claimed the semi-competitive contest more often.

City first faced Arsenal in this competition during their pomp. Of the nine Community Shields held in the 1930s (which were known as Charity Shields at the time) the Gunners were involved in seven.

Arteta was captain of the side that defeated City in 2014, six years before he managed the same club to glory in the competition against Liverpool – although, the 2020 showpiece was the first (and hopefully last) Community Shield held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

---

If Arsenal’s Community Shield heyday was in the 1930s, City are in the midst of their peak right now. Since 2011, City have been involved in seven of the 11 season openers, comfortably the most of other club.

They may regularly reach an event which Guardiola described as „a beautiful occasion“ but City do not always leave the showpiece smiling. Including the last two editions of the competition, City have lost eight Community Shields – only two clubs (Chelsea and United) have suffered more defeats on this stage.

If City lose to Arsenal in August, they will become the first club to lose three consecutive Community Shields since Manchester United suffered four defeats on the spin at the turn of the century.

---

On this week’s edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth, Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss Mason Mount’s impending move to Man Utd, Arsenal’s various deals, Liverpool’s pursuit of Dominik Szoboszlai and more! 

If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!