Arsenal learn Man City fate as FA Cup final confirms Community Shield fixture

Arsenal will take on Manchester City in this year's Community Shield after Pep Guardiola's side defeated Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday

Manchester City's FA Cup final victory over Manchester United means that Arsenal will officially be involved in the Community Shield later this summer.

The pre-season showpiece event, which takes place a week before the opening round of Premier League fixtures, typically takes place between the prior season's Premier League champions and FA Cup winners. However, on the occasion that the same team wins both, the team that finished second in the league will play instead.

City were crowned league champions last month, the fifth time they finished top of the table in six years. Pep Guardiola's side then defeated local rivals United 2-1 in Saturday's cup final thanks to a brace from captain Ilkay Gundogan.

With Arsenal finishing second in the league this season, they will therefore face the Citizens in the Community Shield come August. The Gunners have the Wembley showpiece on 16 occasions, the last time being in 2020 when they beat Liverpool on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

But Mikel Arteta's men have struggled against City in recent years, losing 15 of their last 16 encounters. The north London outfit had led the league for most of the 2022/23 campaign, sitting as many as eight points clear of Guardiola and Co as recently as April.

But an end-of-season collapse saw them hand the Citizens the advantage in the title race, eventually finishing five points behind their title rivals.