On Sunday, the first piece of silverware of the season will be contested for in Cardiff as Premier League champions Arsenal face FA Cup winners Manchester City in the Community Shield.
The omens look good for Arsenal. Only Manchester United (21) have won the Community Shield more often than they have (17, including shared), with the Gunners winning each of their past five.
Arsenal have also won all three matches when competing as reigning Premier League champions (1998, 2002, 2004).
Manchester City did win their last appearance in the Community Shield, beating rivals Manchester United on penalties in 2024. However, they have been runners-up in the match nine times, with only United doing so more (10).
Arsenal have won all three of their Community Shield matches against City, beating them 4-0 in 1934, 3-0 in 2014 and, most recently, 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in 2023.
However, Enzo Maresca, who will become to the first City boss to compete in the Community Shield in his first competitive match in charge, can draw some hope in the fact that in the past 10 occasions the game has been between the league champions and the FA Cup winners, the FA Cup holders have won eight times.
The two teams will compete at Millennium Stadium - a ground where Arsenal played more games than any other team during the period it was first used between 2001 and 2007 (10) and won four Community Shields in that time.
In contrast, this is just City's second ever match at the Welsh stadium, with the other coming in a Uefa Cup qualifying match against TNS in August 2003 (a 2-0 win).
Mikel Arteta won both of his Community Shield matches as a player (2014, 2015), and has won both so far as a manager (2020, 2023), while it is Maresca's first taste of the season curtain-raiser.