Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres dismisses Manchester City friendly claim
Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres has rejected suggestions that Sunday’s Community Shield clash against Manchester City at the Principality Stadium is merely a pre-season friendly.
The Gunners face their title rivals in Cardiff this weekend with the first piece of silverware of the new domestic campaign on the line.
The fixture renews a fierce rivalry between the two clubs following a tense Premier League title race last season, which saw the north London club ultimately crowned champions.
Targeting early silverware
Manchester City did achieve some measure of revenge by defeating Mikel Arteta’s team in the Carabao Cup final.
Speaking after a 3-2 exhibition defeat to Borussia Dortmund, the prolific frontman was quick to dismiss a reporter’s claim that fans and pundits view the upcoming curtain-raiser as a meaningless fixture.
“Against City? As a friendly? I don’t know what other people think but we want to win that game of course, for sure.”
“When you win titles, you get confidence, you get a boost with everything that comes with it.”
Arteta assesses squad readiness
The highly-rated attacker added that securing the trophy would ensure the squad is fully prepared for their imminent title defence.
Arsenal have suffered consecutive defeats in their recent warm-up matches and will look to regain momentum against Como on Wednesday.
Manager Mikel Arteta remains without his complete squad following the summer’s World Cup tournament, but the Spaniard is optimistic about player availability for Sunday’s showdown.
“We have very different groups within the same time that they are coming back.”
The Arsenal boss explained that players are currently at varying stages of fitness depending on their international minutes, adding he hopes for positive surprises regarding their physical condition.
Premier League title defence
Following their trip to Wales, the reigning champions begin their Premier League campaign at home to newly-promoted Coventry on Friday, 21 August.
They will then travel to the Midlands for a challenging second league fixture against Aston Villa.