Paul Merson’s Score Prediction for the 2023 Community Shield Between Man City and Arsenal
Manchester City vs Arsenal takes place at Wembley this weekend for the Community Shield and Paul Merson has given his predictions for the match that kicks off the new season.
Paul Merson is well known for his predictions on the Premier League and has been speaking to Sportskeeda ahead of the Community Shield fixture on Sunday 6th August.
Man City won both the FA Cup and the Premier League last season so they will face second-placed Arsenal in the Community Shield this season, with Pep Guardiola going up against his old Assistant Mikel Arteta, who’s side pushed City close for large parts of last season.
See Paul Merson’s score prediction for the Community Shield below and his thoughts ahead of the match.
Arsenal have made some key signings this season with both Declan Rice and Kai Havertz joining the side from Premier League rivals and Jurrien Timber making a big money move from Ajax.
Manchester City have just added Josko Gvardiol to their squad for the new season but he won’t be involved in the Community Shield, however, Mateo Kovacic could feature after his move from Chelsea. Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gungodan will be two big misses for Guardiola’s squad so his starting line-up for this one will be of great interest.
On the expected departure of Kyle Walker, Merson said, “I’m shocked that they are also letting Kyle Walker leave. They’re a better defensive team when he plays, and he’s still got a lot to give. His departure would definitely weaken the team.”
Merson has doubts as to whether Arsenal will have the required firepower this season saying, “Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli played to their absolute maximum last season and had brilliant break-out campaigns. They were impressive, but Harry Kane scored more league goals than the two of them put together. With Gabriel Jesus out injured, scoring goals could become a problem for Arsenal.”
Paul Merson’s Community Shield Prediction
Writing in his Sportskeeda blog, Merson said: “‘Arsenal have depth in their squad and have closed the gap in the transfer market.”
“When they played in the group stages in Europe last season, they played their strongest team. They started resting players in the knock-outs and went out straight away against Sporting Lisbon. They’ve brought in players now to strengthen the team.”
“Very few people expected Arsenal to make it to the top four last season, but there are a lot of expectations from the team this season. A lot of players were unbelievable for Arsenal last season, and it’s a big ask for them to produce the same quality again.
This Community Shield match will be a bigger game for Arsenal than it will be for Man City. I’m going to back Arsenal to win this game.”
PREDICTION: ARSENAL 2-1 MANCHESTER CITY
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