Premier League champions Arsenal meet FA Cup winners Manchester City at the Principality Stadium at 15:00 BST. City's own channels call it Enzo Maresca's first official match. Arsenal's preview confirms the format: 90 minutes, then a penalty shootout if the scores are level. Extra time is not played.
That is the briefing. The rest is who can actually take part.
Who is out
Arsenal will be without William Saliba and Jurrien Timber. The club says Saliba is in rehab on a back issue. Mikel Arteta called it "more a long-term injury." Timber is on the pitch and ramping volume after the groin problem that kept him out of the World Cup, but Arteta still wants "a few weeks."
City are without Rodri. Maresca said the Spain captain is back at the CFA after minor back surgery, now in rehab, and not yet ready to train with the group. Winger Ryan McAidoo picked up a shoulder issue against Inter on the Asia tour. Players who reached the World Cup quarter-finals missed that trip, which Maresca said could affect selection.
Who can be involved
Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and Martin Zubimendi have not featured in pre-season. They trained this week. Arteta's Friday line: they will be available, and "if they are in the condition we expect them to be in, they will be involved." Rice and Saka had individual programmes after England's run to the semi-finals. Arteta said the last two or three days looked "really good."
Erling Haaland sat out part of City's open training. Maresca said he is fine, with "small things behind his heels." Treat that as fitness to be managed, not a confirmed start. The team sheets land an hour before kick-off. Guessed line-ups are not reporting.
What both managers have already said
Arteta set a hard standard: "The best version has to be on Sunday... by lifting the first trophy." Maresca, on City's own site, shut down the friendly talk: "For me personally it is a trophy... no friendly game at all."
Both men are asking for a final. Arsenal are missing the two defenders who usually organise the back line. City are missing the midfielder who usually organises everything else.
How to watch, and what to watch
Kick-off is 15:00 BST, live on TNT Sports in the UK per City. Referee: Sam Barrott, his first major final, per Arsenal.
Watch the first dead-ball. Maresca has already named set-pieces as the Premier League's big change, and Arsenal's title season ran on them. Watch whether Rice and Saka start or arrive later. Watch whether Haaland starts or waits. Watch who deals with City's 1v1 wide players without Timber.
The Premier League starts Friday 21 August, Arsenal against Coventry at the Emirates. Cardiff still decides who lifts the first trophy and which absences show up on the first competitive sheet.
Sources
- Arsenal: Community Shield preview, team news, and format (club preview).
- Arsenal: every word from Arteta's pre-Shield presser (14 August 2026).
- Manchester City: Maresca fitness update on McAidoo, Haaland, and Rodri (club).
- Manchester City: Maresca on the Shield as a trophy (club).
- Manchester City: kick-off time and TV information (club).