Less than a month after Arsenal brought a close to the 2019/20 English football season with victory in the FA Cup final, they kick off the 2020/21 campaign in the Community Shield against the Premier League champions Liverpool at Wembley stadium.
The traditional curtain-raiser takes place two weeks before the start of the new Premier League season and gives both clubs the chance to earn an early piece of silverware.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have warmed up for the contest with a pre-season training camp in Austria that included friendlies against Stuttgart and RB Salzburg.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have played just one pre-season game ahead of this match, beating MK Dons 4-1 on Tuesday.
The Gunners beat Liverpool in the last meeting between the two sides, with blunders from Van Dijk and Alisson Becker ending Liverpool’s hopes of equaling or surpassing Manchester City’s record Premier League points haul in July.
The last time the two sides met in the Community Shield was 2002 where Arsenal emerged victorious with a 1-0 win courtesy of a Gilberto Silva goal.
The match will be played behind closed doors at Wembley with no fans due to be present due to government guidelines regarding coronavirus.
Manchester United have the most community shields, lifting it on 21 occasions. Arsenal and Liverpool stand second in the all-time table with 15 wins each – Saturday will see the two clubs both playing in their 24th Community Shield.
