Man City face Arsenal repeat as they target Super Cup before Newcastle

Pep Guardiola was clear after defeat at Wembley: Man City wanted to beat Arsenal to win the Community Shield.

The question was being asked because Manchester City were behind their opponents in terms of preparations, having started back later after finishing last season much later. Erling Haaland had started but had been taken off on the hour mark with the game scoreless; he will be better next match, said his manager, ahead of his two goals against Burnley.

City wanted to win the Community Shield more than they have in previous years because they wanted to win six trophies in a calendar year, yet they still value the Premier League more. That shouldn't detract from Arsenal's victory, as long as they know that they didn't face the best possible City.

Sevilla won't either as the Blues continue to build up their rhythm again, and once more the Super Cup is a competition that the club are hungry for. If anything, motivation is probably a bit more for the manager and squad as City are playing for silverware that they have never had the opportunity to before.

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Again though, that is unlikely to mean the Premier League is sacrificed. Newcastle away loom on Saturday night at the Etihad and the club's unhappiness at having to play then when they only finish in Athens in the early hours of Thursday morning has been evident.

City have already run into injury issues with their small squad this season, with John Stones and Ruben Dias missing the Burnley match and Kevin De Bruyne coming off at Turf Moor in another worrying sign. The decision to leave Joao Cancelo out of matchdays further reduces the number available to Guardiola.

Newcastle showed at the