Arteta and Arsenal want Community Shield victory
Mikel Arteta has no doubt over Arsenal's hunger and desire to win more trophies as it targets a Community Shield triumph over Manchester City.
The Gunners finally ended its 22-year wait for a Premier League title last season, finishing seven points clear of City, which won the FA Cup to tee up this season's curtain-raiser at Principality Stadium.
Arteta won both of his Community Shield matches as a player (2014, 2015), and has won both so far as a manager (2020, 2023), with both managerial victories coming via penalty shootouts.
The Arsenal boss is targeting another success, and he insisted his squad is very much on the same page, too.
"It is a trophy, it is a trophy that we can have," Arteta said. "We won [a trophy] last year through the Premier League.
"You can tell how hungry the players are, which is a good sign.
"That is what we are going to try to do. We have a really strong opponent but we are really excited to start this season and to start with the first trophy as well.
"I sense really good energy around the players, the international players are back and we can't wait to start competing."
Asked if this game would provide a marker of where Arsenal is at ahead of the 2026-2027 campaign, Arteta said: "Well that is what we want, we are adapting to the circumstances and the preparation that we had.
"I said it the other day, I love the way the players have come back, most of them earlier than expected, really fit, we have done all the testing and they all seem in great condition and the moment they start to look at each other, I said look at the squad that we have and what we are building, it is a lot of excitement around them."
While Arteta reiterated Arsenal are still aiming to bolster its squad over the coming weeks, new City boss Enzo Maresca said the challenge for his team is to close the gap on the Gunners.
"Arsenal have shown in the last two or three or four, five years, that they are always there," he said.
"It is a fantastic team from Mikel. Last year, they won the Premier League, they showed how good they are in this moment. But at the same time, we are City and we're going to try to close the gap and compete."
