The curtain-raiser of the 2015/16 season sees FA Cup holders Arsenal meet Premier League champions Chelsea for the Community Shield on Sunday at Wembley.
It is a highly anticipated game with the fierce rivalry between the two teams and their managers.
Arsenal has been so impressive in their pre-season campaign winning all their four games they have played.
The Gunners have also been able to score goals for fun finding the net 14 times against the likes of Everton, Lyon and Villarreal to clinch both the Premier League Asia Trophy and the Emirates Cup.
Theo Walcott has been very impreessive during the pre-season games
Meanwhile Chelsea has had to contended with tough games in their pre-season and come out strong.
The Blues have won four out of five matches in the Far East, Australia and the USA, winning against Barcelona and PSG in the International Champions Cup.
Both teams have been quiet in the summer transfers with Arsenal having brought in Petr Cech as the only arrival at the Emirates Stadium from Chelsea, with the Blues signing Radamel Falcao and Asmir Begovic as the only senior players.
Team News
Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Alexis Sanchez will miss the game as he enjoys a prolonged rest after helping Chile win the Copa America.David Ospina is also still out having guided Colombia to the quarter finals of the same tournament.
The Gunners will look at their senior players to win the community shield with the likes of Per Mertesacker, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil,Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud all likely to make the starting lineup. Arsenal will also be boosted with the news of Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla signing new contracts according to the guarduian
Meanwhile Chelsea have injury scares with Gary Cahill and Diego Costa both doubtful for the game. Cahill is struggling with a facial problem, while Costa is nursing what is thought to be a hamstring strain.
Chelsea will look to Diego Costa to guide them to the Community Shield trophy at Wembley against Arsenal
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Coquelin, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil; Theo Walcott, Giroud
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Matic, Willian, Oscar, Hazard;Costa
Head To Head
Chelsea has a fantastic eight-game unbeaten record against the Gunners that stretches back to 2011. Last season saw the Blues beat Arsenal 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League before a goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has never registered a win against his nemesis Jose Mourinho and it will be interesting to see how the game fares on Sunday.
Arsene Wenger will face his nemesis Jose Mourinho again at Wembley
The game will be enticing with Chelsea legend Petr Cech playing against his former Team for the first team.
we wait to see whether Cech out performs Courtois and guide Arsenal to the community Shield Trophy with the stats showing him as a better goalkeeper.
Opta stats
The FA Cup winners have only won one of the last five Community Shield matches, though this was Arsenal in last year’s game.
The Gunners have gone 482 minutes without a goal against Chelsea.
Arsenal have won their last four games at the new Wembley, after failing to win any of the first three (D1 L2). They did beat Wigan on penalties in that drawn result, however.
Neither side has failed to score in games at the new Wembley Stadium (Arsenal – 7 games, Chelsea – 13 games).
The Blues have won eight of their 13 games at the new Wembley (D2 L3). They’ve won once and lost once on penalties following those two draws.
The last two red cards shown in the Community Shield match have been to Chelsea and Arsenal – Branislav Ivanovic for the Blues in 2012 and Francis Jeffers for Arsenal in 2003.