Arsenal XI vs Man City: Guimaraes starts, Saka and Rice on bench

Bruno Guimaraes makes his first Arsenal start in the Community Shield vs Man City, with Saka, Rice and Zubimendi on the bench after returning to training.

Brit Brief 16/08/2026 12:01

Arsenal XI vs Man City: Guimaraes starts, Saka and Rice on bench

Bruno Guimaraes makes his first Arsenal start in today's Community Shield showdown with Manchester City.

The Gunners' new £75million signing from Newcastle is likely to be promoted to Mikel Arteta's first XI in Cardiff this afternoon after initially coming off the bench in the midweek friendly draw with Como to make his debut.

Key Returns on the Bench

Arsenal are also set to be boosted by the key returns of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi to their squad to face City, though all three start on the bench.

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None of the trio have played a single minute in pre-season so far after only resuming training at the start of the week in the aftermath of extended breaks following the World Cup.

“They will be available,” Arteta said of Saka, Rice and Zubimendi at his pre-match press conference on Friday. “They trained with us today, they will train tomorrow.

“If they are in the condition we expect them to be, they will be involved.”

Defensive and Attacking Picks

Jurrien Timber and William Saliba both remain unavailable due to injury, so Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera start on the right of defence, alongside Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori.

New £34m arrival Christos Tzolis has been one of Arsenal's most impressive players this summer and will gets the nod over Gabriel Martinelli.

Up front, Kai Havertz is often Arteta's preferred choice in Arsenal's biggest games and starts over Viktor Gyokeres, while David Raya is in goal after returning to play the second half against Como on Wednesday.