Arsenal come into this Super Cup curtain-raiser with a wobble still fresh in the memory. That 2-3 home defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Emirates Cup was a proper reality check — the Gunners were carving chances but got punished on the break, and Arteta will have hated the defensive sloppiness. It was a friendly, sure, but the pattern of conceding soft goals is exactly what Manchester City will look to exploit. Still, there's a new toy in the midfield: Bruno Guimaraes is expected to make his first start, and that changes the whole shape of this Arsenal side. He adds bite and composure in the middle, the kind of presence that can slow down City's transitions.

Manchester City, meanwhile, arrive with the big Norwegian back. Erling Haaland is fit to start — that's the headline. City's recent form is a bit of a closed book from the research, but you don't need a spreadsheet to know what Pep's machine looks like in August. They're always sharp, always organised, always dangerous. The last meeting between these two was a 2-1 City win back in April, and that result will be sitting in the back of Arsenal's minds. This is a genuine heavyweight clash, the kind of early-season fixture that often produces a cagey, tactical chess match rather than a firework display.