Viktor Gyökeres on Arsenal's Community Shield Challenge Against Manchester City

Viktor Gyökeres has no time for the polite fiction that the Community Shield is a pre-season stroll. Not when the opponents are Manchester City. Not when Arsenal arrive as champions with a target stamped across their backs.

“Against City? As a friendly? I don’t know what other people think but we want to win that game of course, for sure,” the Sweden striker snapped, brushing aside the old “glorified friendly” cliché. For him, this is the first piece of silverware on offer, and a chance to send a message.

He knows what an early trophy can do for a dressing room.

“When you win titles, you get confidence, you get a boost with everything that comes with it. So, yeah, it's only positive things with that. We want to make sure that we're not only on top of that but that we're ready for the new season.”

This year’s curtain-raiser will look a little different. The FA has confirmed the 2026 Community Shield will be played at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with Wembley handed over to concert bookings. The venue changes; the stakes do not.

New steel in midfield

Arsenal head into Sunday with fresh muscle in the middle of the pitch. The club have landed Bruno Guimarães from Newcastle in a £75m deal, a marquee signing that underlines their intent to stay at the top rather than just enjoy the view.

“Yeah, we're all very happy,” Gyökeres said of the Brazilian’s arrival. “He's an extremely good player and I think he will bring a lot of energy and his qualities to the team. I only have positive things to say.”

Attackers tend to light up when they talk about midfielders like Guimarães. More energy, more line-breaking passes, more chaos around the box. For a striker who thrives on service, it is easy to see why Gyökeres is smiling.

But the shine up front comes with a warning from the back.

Defensive alarms before Wembley

Arsenal’s pre-season has thrown up a problem Mikel Arteta cannot ignore. They have conceded three goals in each of their last two friendlies, defensive lapses cutting through the optimism around their attacking options.

Gyökeres saw it up close in the 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund, a game in which he scored a second-half penalty but watched his side undone by movement and set pieces.

“[Borussia] Dortmund played man-to-man, when they attacked, they rotated a lot and made runs in behind,” he explained. “It was a good test for us and we learned what we have to do much better defensively. The third goal came from a corner, the other two goals at the beginning were of course frustrating as well.”

The admission is blunt: Arsenal are not yet where they need to be without the ball. With their Premier League opener looming against his former club Coventry City, the margins will tighten quickly. City will not be as forgiving as a pre-season opponent.

Champions with a target on their backs

Inside the camp, though, there is no sense of a group satisfied with last season’s work. If anything, Gyökeres insists, the edge has sharpened. Asked whether he sees the same desire in Mikel Arteta’s eyes as they prepare to defend their crown, the 28-year-old did not bother with a long explanation.

“More hunger!”

Two words, delivered with the certainty of a player who understands what awaits them. Retaining the Premier League title is one of the hardest tricks in the modern game. Everyone studies you. Everyone raises their level against you. Every away ground feels that bit more hostile.

“You can think about it [starting the season as champions] in a million different ways,” he said. “If it is harder or not I don’t know but it will be difficult to win the league, even if you won it last season it is still a big challenge.

“It is the best league in the world and a lot of teams are in very good shape with very good players. We won last season and we will try to win it this season as well.”

So it begins again. Arsenal, the hunted rather than the hunters, walking out at Wembley with City in their path, a new £75m heartbeat in midfield and defensive questions still hanging in the air. The Shield may not define their season, but for a squad talking about “more hunger”, it will show exactly how sharp their appetite really is.