By Emmanuel Ebimoh
If you really want to know what it feels like to be one of the best two teams out of 92 professional football clubs in a country, then you should ask Manchester City or Arsenal.
In the previous 2022/2023 season, both teams undoubtedly shone brighter and stood top of the biggest and most competitive league in the world – The English Premier League (EPL).
Despite their unrivalled dominance, the previous season ultimately ended in disappointment for Arsenal who had high hopes of ending their 19-year drought of clinching the coveted EPL trophy. After leading the pack for about 8 months, the Gunners slipped disastrously and handed the league to Manchester City, a team with fire brimming out of their nostrils last season.
That silly, characteristic, inexperienced, last-minute act by Arsenal dented all the hard work of the team and would give naysayers more reasons to believe that the North London side is incapable of winning the EPL trophy.
But there is always another chance for redemption.
In about six days, a new season would kick off – the 2023/2024 season.
Would it be Arsenal’s year to dust themselves up and take the fight to the finish line? Or would the other 18 teams (let’s leave the ostentatious Manchester City out for now) put up a better fight in the race to the title?
Anyway, before we go neck-deep into that conversation, there is a prize to be won now. The FA Community Shield prize is up for grabs and it will be between the two best teams in the whole of England last season – Manchester City and Arsenal.
The Community Shield match is a curtain opener to the start of a new EPL campaign. It is usually contested between the winners of the Premier League and the FA Cup. However, since Manchester City clinched both trophies last season, it means they will lock horns with the second-placed team in the league in the Community Shield battle.
In preparation for this showdown, both teams have been engaged in preseason matches: experimenting with new players, adjusting to new styles, and plotting strategies to send opponents to the trenches. But, don’t be fooled, preseason matches may just be a smokescreen. The real deal starts now!
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s coach, has acquired new top talents into his squad. Expectedly, by those additions, the hype in the Arsenal team is louder now.
Football enthusiasts are waiting eagerly to see how new additions like Declan Rice (£100m), Kai Havertz (£65m), and Jurrien Timber (£35m) would perform in the team. While Manchester City continue to adorn themselves with their talented stars, albeit the departure of club captain IIker Gundogan to Barcelona, no one knows what the master tactician, Pep Guardiola has up his sleeves this time.
We will wait and see.
The prestigious Wembley Stadium is set and our football craving is finally here!
Who will lift the first crown for the 2023/2024 season? Manchester City or Arsenal?
Please drop your predictions.
