Arsenal took home the first piece of silverware of the new season as they beat treble-winners Manchester City on penalties to lift the Community Shield.

Substitute Cole Palmer appeared to have won it for City in normal time after a fine curling finish, only for an unfortunate last-gasp Manuel Akanji own goal to earn Arsenal a 1-1 draw and take the game to a shoot-out.

The Gunners scored all of their spot-kicks while Kevin De Bruyne fired against the bar and Champions League final match-winner Rodri’s poor effort was saved by Aaron Ramsdale.

Just as 12 months ago, Erling Haaland had a quiet afternoon in this fixture but his replacement, Palmer, had appeared set to add another trophy to the brimming cabinet at the Etihad Stadium.

Arsenal had their moments and arguably got the goal their play had deserved when a late Leandro Trossard effort took a heavy deflection off the unwitting Akanji.

Fabio Vieira then converted the winning penalty in the shoot-out, handing the Gunners a 4-1 win.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has expressed his concern about the demands on players in light of changes such as an expanded Club World Cup and more time being added on in games.

After winning the Champions League to complete their treble last term, City will compete in December’s Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia – what is planned to be the final edition featuring seven teams, with the next a 32-side competition taking place in the United States in the summer of 2025.

Meanwhile, the significant increase in time added on seen at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, designed to tackle timewasting, is something set to apply to Premier League matches this season.

Speaking ahead of his side opening their 2023-24 campaign with Sunday’s Community Shield clash against Arsenal, Guardiola said: “I know at the end of next season, we are going to make a (Club) World Cup in the United States after finishing the season, two or three more weeks. That means the holidays will be 15 days or maybe three weeks.

“I think it doesn’t exist already, pre-seasons. The problem is here (touching his head) – exhausted. Look already how many players are injured in pre-season, in bad conditions, humidity, hot, the pitches are not really good, especially in the States.

“It is what it is, so we have to adapt, adjust – but it is not normal.

“Now, for example, every game we’re going to play for 100 minutes. Wasting time – from my point of view it is not going to be solved by extending 10 more minutes. It’s more tiring for the players. It’s too much.

“FIFA, UEFA – more competitions. The World Cup – more teams. This (Club) World Cup – I don’t know how many teams.

“I don’t know what (is going to happen) in the future, for the players, even the managers, to prepare. That’s why you have to see exactly how much you demand of the players.

“Every day, season by season, it’s difficult to handle for the players. They love to play but they need also recovery, with the stress and tension they have. They make a show like they do in front of 55-60,000 people – that is a lot of energy, mental energy, and every week, to do it, is a lot.

“But every year is getting worse and worse, and will be worse. I don’t know how it is going to end, honestly.”

As City prepare to hunt down further silverware, Guardiola has stressed the need for a game-by-game approach in which they “respect incredibly the opponent, do our best to win in the way we believe is better – and after we will see”.

And he added: “I would say honestly we are closer to not repeating the treble than winning it, we are closer to not winning the Premier League than winning it. And no team ever won four in a row.

“Last season – I didn’t start thinking we are going to win the treble. We started, ‘let’s go to try to win (the Community Shield) against Liverpool’ and we lost 3-1.

“And after (that) we won and step by step, good moments. Normally we arrive (in the last few months of the season) in a good mentality and shape, and this is what we are going to try to do again.”

June’s maiden Champions League triumph for City added to five league titles, two FA Cups and four League Cups they have won since Guardiola took charge in 2016.

The Catalan signed a new contract running to 2025 last November, and when asked if he had thought at all about leaving after securing the treble, he said: “I signed a contract because I feel comfortable.

“Nothing changed, for the fact of win or not win. It is how I am happy, and the people is happy, the board especially, the hierarchy, because in the end they decide which manager has to lead this group of players. If they are satisfied, I still am satisfied.

“I want to defend what we won and year by year, maybe at the end of the season I am tired, or I say we will talk with the club, or maybe extend more, I don’t know.”

Josko Gvardiol rose to global prominence as ‘the man in the mask’ at the 2022 World Cup but had long since been destined for the top.

The Zagreb-born 21-year-old caught the eye in Qatar, but more for his unruffled dynamism at the heart of Croatia’s defence than for the black face mask worn to protect his broken nose.

Gvardiol, who on Saturday completed a £77.6million to Manchester City, was a stand-out player during Croatia’s run to the semi-finals and emerged as arguably the best young player at the tournament and certainly among the world’s best left-footed central defenders.

Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez received FIFA’s young player award, but Gvardiol was included in a five-man shortlist alongside the likes of Jude Bellingham and Morocco’s Azzedine Ounahi.

Dozens of British media outlets named him in their team of the tournament.

His career had already been on a steep upward curve after making his debut for Dinamo Zagreb aged 17 in 2019 and less than a year later he joined RB Leipzig for £13.8million.

Leipzig loaned Gvardiol straight back to Zagreb for the remainder of the 2020-21 season and he played a key role in his hometown club’s domestic double-winning campaign.

The Bundesliga club beat a host of European clubs to the teenager’s signature, including Leeds, who had offered a reported £19million under then head coach Marcelo Bielsa.

Gvardiol later revealed that he had been close to teaming up with Bielsa, who had regularly phoned him personally to convince him of his project at Elland Road.

But he opted for Leipzig and, in his first season at the Red Bull Arena, Gvardiol won rave reviews, helping them lift the DFB Pokal – their first major trophy – and qualify for the Champions League after finishing runners-up to champions Bayern Munich.

Leipzig also reached the 2022 Europa League semi-finals – they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Rangers – and, with Gvardiol integral to their success, Europe’s big guns moved in.

Chelsea’s reported offer of £77.5m in the summer of 2022 was rejected as Leipzig extended the Croatian’s contract until 2027 and he continued to impress.

He scored his first Champions League goal as Leipzig halted Real Madrid’s 16-game unbeaten start last season in a 3-2 win before the World Cup break, heading the German side into an early lead.

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic had no doubts Gvardiol was on the path to stardom when handing the then-19-year-old his first senior international start in their opening group defeat to England at Euro 2020.

Gvardiol started in every game at the Euros as Croatia lost to Spain in the round of 16 and Dalic’s admiration grew at the World Cup in Qatar.

Lionel Messi duped Gvardiol when setting up Julian Alvarez for Argentina’s third goal in Croatia’s 3-0 semi-final defeat, but that did not detract from the 6ft 1in defender’s immense contribution overall.

After Croatia reached the knockout stages in Qatar, Dalic said: “Gvardiol is the best central defender in the world. He’s so mature. The way he plays, with the grace he controls the ball – it’s amazing.”

Manchester City will be hoping Gvardiol can live up to such high praise.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is sure Arsenal will be a greater force this season for the players they have acquired over the summer.

The Gunners, managed by Guardiola’s former assistant Mikel Arteta, topped the Premier League for much of last season before ending up five points behind treble-winners City in second place.

They have since brought in Kai Havertz from Chelsea, Declan Rice from West Ham – who City had been looking at signing themselves before ending their interest after Arsenal bid £105million for him – and Jurrien Timber from Ajax.

And when Guardiola was asked ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield clash with Arsenal if he thought that trio would take them to the next level, he said: “Definitely.

“They didn’t buy players to make the squad bigger, they buy starting XI players. Really good, all of them.”

He added: “I could not expect differently – Newcastle have done it, Liverpool maybe less but I think with (Jordan) Henderson and Fabinho gone they will go to the market again, and (Manchester) United do it again.

“It’s normal. Every season, the teams want to make the team better, not just Man City.”

Guardiola said City – whose summer incomings have been Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea and, this week, Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig – were “not in the best, best way” heading into Sunday’s season curtain-raiser at Wembley but is hopeful of how they might fare.

“Of course we are going to try, but knowing how we are right now, we finished two weeks later than Arsenal and started two weeks later, so we are not in the best, best way,” he said.

“Always we struggle to restart every season, but it is a final and hopefully our mentality can help us to be there and compete, like we have to compete against them and try to win the title.”

On Arsenal as Premier League title challengers and the task ahead for his own side, he said: “Arsene Wenger installed Arsenal in that position.

“He changed many things in English football I would say. His influence was massive, one of the greatest, maybe the greatest in terms of coming from aboard and bringing something new that maybe wasn’t here, install a culture.

“Maybe the last years (it) dropped, and Mikel brought them again to the position Arsenal was all the time.

“Everybody knows – at the start of every season I say the same, but it is my feeling – there is not one or two, there are a lot of teams that are going to fight for everything, and the challenge is massive for us.

“So how we will be mentally, and how we can grow as a team and football-wise, and sustain that level. It is almost impossible, you cannot win more than we won. But the challenge is that. How starving still we are, how hungry, how we have desire to defend what we won.

“And yeah, we will see during the process of 11 months, in the lower moments – of which we will we have many, I would think more than ever – how we overcome and come back.

“I know they (his players) are incredible competitors and we will push each other and challenge each other and I’m sure that we will be there.”

Josko Gvardiol rose to global prominence as ‘the man in the mask’ at the 2022 World Cup but had long since been destined for the top.

The Zagreb-born 21-year-old caught the eye in Qatar, but more for his unruffled dynamism at the heart of Croatia’s defence than for the black face mask worn to protect his broken nose.

Gvardiol, who on Saturday completed a £77.6million to Manchester City, was a stand-out player during Croatia’s run to the semi-finals and emerged as arguably the best young player at the tournament and certainly among the world’s best left-footed central defenders.

Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez received FIFA’s young player award, but Gvardiol was included in a five-man shortlist alongside the likes of Jude Bellingham and Morocco’s Azzedine Ounahi.

Dozens of British media outlets named him in their team of the tournament.

His career had already been on a steep upward curve after making his debut for Dinamo Zagreb aged 17 in 2019 and less than a year later he joined RB Leipzig for £13.8million.

Leipzig loaned Gvardiol straight back to Zagreb for the remainder of the 2020-21 season and he played a key role in his hometown club’s domestic double-winning campaign.

The Bundesliga club beat a host of European clubs to the teenager’s signature, including Leeds, who had offered a reported £19million under then head coach Marcelo Bielsa.

Gvardiol later revealed that he had been close to teaming up with Bielsa, who had regularly phoned him personally to convince him of his project at Elland Road.

But he opted for Leipzig and, in his first season at the Red Bull Arena, Gvardiol won rave reviews, helping them lift the DFB Pokal – their first major trophy – and qualify for the Champions League after finishing runners-up to champions Bayern Munich.

Leipzig also reached the 2022 Europa League semi-finals – they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Rangers – and, with Gvardiol integral to their success, Europe’s big guns moved in.

Chelsea’s reported offer of £77.5m in the summer of 2022 was rejected as Leipzig extended the Croatian’s contract until 2027 and he continued to impress.

He scored his first Champions League goal as Leipzig halted Real Madrid’s 16-game unbeaten start last season in a 3-2 win before the World Cup break, heading the German side into an early lead.

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic had no doubts Gvardiol was on the path to stardom when handing the then-19-year-old his first senior international start in their opening group defeat to England at Euro 2020.

Gvardiol started in every game at the Euros as Croatia lost to Spain in the round of 16 and Dalic’s admiration grew at the World Cup in Qatar.

Lionel Messi duped Gvardiol when setting up Julian Alvarez for Argentina’s third goal in Croatia’s 3-0 semi-final defeat, but that did not detract from the 6ft 1in defender’s immense contribution overall.

After Croatia reached the knockout stages in Qatar, Dalic said: “Gvardiol is the best central defender in the world. He’s so mature. The way he plays, with the grace he controls the ball – it’s amazing.”

Manchester City will be hoping Gvardiol can live up to such high praise.

Manchester City have finalised the signing of Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig on a five-year deal.

The 21-year-old completed his medical with City on Friday afternoon after the Premier League champions agreed a fee of 90million euros (£77.6m) with Leipzig.

City announced on their official website: “Manchester City are delighted to confirm the signing of Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig on a five-year deal.

“The 21-year-old becomes the second signing of the summer transfer window ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, following in the footsteps of fellow Croatian international Mateo Kovacic.”

Gvardiol has spent the last two seasons at Leipzig, making 87 appearances in all competitions, and was key to Croatia’s run to the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar at the end of last year.

He said: “I have always dreamed of one day playing in England and to be doing so now with Manchester City – after the season they have just had – is a real honour for me.

“Anyone who saw Manchester City play last season knows they are the best team in the world. To win the treble says everything you need to know about the quality this team has.

“To be joining City is something very special for me and my family. To have the chance to work with Pep Guardiola, too, will be amazing. I know I am not yet the finished article and I am sure my game will progress under the best coach in football.”

Pep Guardiola is hoping Manchester City complete the signing of defender Josko Gvardiol within the next few “hours or days”.

The 21-year-old Gvardiol was undergoing a medical with City on Friday afternoon ahead of his proposed move from RB Leipzig.

The treble-winners are closing in on a deal for the Croatia international and are understood to have agreed a fee of 90million euros (£77.6m) with Leipzig.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield clash with Arsenal at Wembley, City boss Guardiola said: “Regarding Gvardiol – what a beautiful surname he has – he’s doing a medical test.

“Everybody knows he’s here, and hopefully we can finish the deal in the next hours, the next days.”

Put to Guardiola that completion of the deal would give him six central defenders, he said: “The season is so long, there is many, many games. (It is) absolutely not (too many).”

When asked if, after Gvardiol, City would be done in the transfer marker, Guardiola said: “I don’t know. I think it is going to move, something. Not yet.”

City have already this summer signed Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea, while outgoings have been fellow midfielder Ilkay Gundogan going to Barcelona at the end of his contract and forward Riyad Mahrez joining Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ahli.

Kyle Walker has been linked with Bayern Munich and Bernardo Silva with Barcelona and Saudi Arabia, and Guardiola said: “They are so important players for us. We want them, we are going to do everything.

“It’s not like Gundo, finishing a contract – they have a contract. We want them to stay because they want to stay, and to replace these two players is so, so difficult.

“We lost two incredible players for us, Ilkay and Riyad in the last seasons were massively important, incredible goals and assists and personalities in the biggest stages and big important games. To lose Kyle and Bernardo would be so difficult.”

He added, when asked more about Silva: “I want to work with guys who want to stay…but after that we have to get an offer…a proper offer.

“If they want him, they will take a plane, come here and talk with our sporting director, the CEO, to arrive at an agreement.

“For us to buy a player is £10-15m more expensive than other clubs, all the time it’s like that. And the same guys, when they want our players, really important players, first they have to make an offer – and it didn’t happen.

“Some players feel they want a new experience. I will not be the guy to say ‘no’, but you have to take an agreement with an important part of the club, the business, (to) make a deal happen.

“In the case of Bernardo and Kyle, we talk many times over the last months and even years how important they are for us, how we want them and we will continue to do it until the end.

“What is going to happen I don’t know but it is not going to happen if both clubs don’t arrive.

“They are massively important players. When we lose these type of players we have to go to the market to buy replacements, and it doesn’t cost £10m, £20m, £30m, £40m, £50m – it’s more expensive than that.”

Last month City ended their interest in signing Declan Rice from West Ham after Arsenal bid £105m for the England midfielder, who subsequently made a British-record switch to the Gunners.

Asked if he had been disappointed to miss out on Rice, Guardiola said: “Absolutely not. Declan Rice decided to go to Arsenal, the offer was incredible, and all the best. I think for England he is and will be important, and Arsenal bought an incredible player.”

Meanwhile, Juanma Lillo has returned to City’s coaching staff. The 57-year-old Spaniard was previously on Guardiola’s backroom team for two seasons from the summer of 2020 before departing to become head coach at Qatari outfit Al Sadd.

Treble winners Manchester City meet Arsenal in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.

The Gunners topped the Premier League for most of last season before being usurped by Pep Guardiola’s men en route to their fifth title in six years.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points ahead of the clash.

City to pick up where they left off?

City finished last season in unstoppable form as they powered to the treble, winning 11 successive games after February’s 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest to pip Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

They also saw off Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Cup final and beat Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Inter Milan to claim Champions League glory.

Sunday brings a chance to see how Guardiola’s side appear to be shaping up as they prepare to hunt down further silverware, with Erling Haaland no doubt eager to open his account for 2023-24 after his astonishing 52-goal haul last season.

The Rice is right for Gunners

Arsenal reacted to their most sustained title challenge in years by getting their transfer business done early in the summer.

Kai Havertz joined from Chelsea and Jurrien Timber came in from Ajax but it was the club-record signing of West Ham captain Declan Rice for £105million that caught the eye – not least because City were also interested in landing the 24-year-old.

Rice will be seen as pivotal in taking Mikel Arteta’s side from nearly-men to trophy winners and what better way to prove your credentials than starring against the might of City’s midfield.

Gundgo-gone

An interesting alteration at City over the summer has been the departure to Barcelona of experienced midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, a key man in the closing stages last term.

The new recruit in that position is Mateo Kovacic, brought in from Chelsea, with City having opted to end their interest in signing Rice after bids reached a certain point.

Kevin De Bruyne proved last season he is one of the best players in Europe while John Stones has also been operating in a midfield role and Rodri – who hit the winner in the Champions League final win – is also a class act.

Eddie ready to go?

While the Community Shield is often referred to as the ‘curtain-raiser’ for the new league season – for Arsenal this is more of a dress rehearsal of their title ambitions.

They will have to perform, however, without first-choice striker and former City man Gabriel Jesus, who underwent minor surgery to address irritation from a more serious knee operation earlier in the year.

It means Arteta has a decision to make as to who leads the line at Wembley, with Eddie Nketiah the likely favourite – although he is without a competitive goal in 14 games, a run that stretches back to January and almost 10 hours of football.

Supporting the Jeff Astle Foundation

The funds raised by the Community Shield have been used to support plenty of causes in the past and this year the Football Association has announced the Jeff Astle Foundation will be one of the main beneficiaries.

Astle, who played for England and won the FA Cup with West Brom, died in 2002 and had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia.

The Jeff Astle Foundation was created in his memory and raises awareness of the impact caused by concussion in football, while also providing support to former players who suffer with dementia.

Retiring playmaker David Silva should be remembered as one of the best players to grace the Premier League, according to his former Manchester City team-mate Joleon Lescott.

Real Sociedad midfielder Silva announced his retirement at the age of 37 last Thursday, having suffered a serious knee injury in pre-season training.

Prior to joining La Real in 2020, Silva won four Premier League titles and seven domestic cups during a memorable spell at the Etihad Stadium, where he has since been honoured with a statue. 

Silva – who also won the 2010 World Cup and two European Championship titles with Spain – led all Premier League players for assists (89) and chances created (768) during the decade between 2010 and 2020.

Having played alongside Silva between 2010 and 2014, former City defender Lescott believes Silva deserves to be seen as a Premier League great. 

"When he joined he was obviously a World Cup winner and a Euros winner, and he turned out to be an iconic Premier League player, one of the best to ever grace the Premier League," Lescott told Stats Perform.

"I think we all are aware of what his qualities were on the pitch, but what a guy. What a human being. My biggest compliment to David is that he's equally as good a person as he is a player."

City have lost two further club icons during the current transfer window, with Ilkay Gundogan joining Barcelona on a free transfer and Riyad Mahrez signing for Saudi side Al Ahli in a £30million deal.

Lescott believes the duo will be missed by Pep Guardiola's treble winners, adding: "The qualities they'll bring to their new teams are obvious. 

"They have superior technical ability. Ilkay is recognised as one of the best leaders in the squad. Riyad is obviously one of the most skilful. 

"They'll bring that to their new teams but they'll be sorely missed, not just because of their ability on the pitch, but [because of] what they brought to the dressing room and what they were to City's fanbase."

Having delivered the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup trophies last term, Guardiola is looking to lead City to a fourth successive top-flight title this season.

Asked about Guardiola's impact on English football, Lescott said: "He's obviously changed the game, he's revolutionised different positions, the way we look at it and the way we view it.

"Every country he's managed in, I think they've tried to adapt throughout the leagues, and that's the biggest compliment for Pep. 

"Now in England there are multiple teams in multiple leagues that want to play the way they see Man City play."

RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol is set for a medical at Manchester City in the next few days after the two clubs agreed a 90 million euros (£77.5million) deal.

The Bundesliga side were said to be holding out for a fee of 100m euros (£86m) for the Croatia international, but City have been able to push the transfer through at a price that suits them.

The 21-year-old is due in Manchester before the end of the week for a medical, the PA news agency understands.

Gvardiol would add competition on the left side of City’s defence, having helped Croatia reach the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and then the final of the Nations League, where they were beaten by Spain.

Midfielder Mateo Kovacic is so far City’s only summer signing, with the Croatian having moved from Chelsea in June.

City saw captain Ilkay Gundogan leave for Barcelona on a free transfer and Riyad Mahrez last week completed a switch to Saudi Arabia club Al-Ahli in a £30m deal.

The Premier League champions will take on Arsenal in the FA Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.

Manchester City are closing in on a 90million euro (£77.5million) deal for RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol, according to reports.

Leipzig were said to be holding out for a fee of 100m euros (£86m) for the Croatia international.

However, it appears City have been able to push the transfer through and Gvardiol is expected have a medical later this week.

Gvardiol would add competition on the left side of City’s defence, having helped Croatia reach the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and then the final of the Nations League, where they were beaten by Spain.

Midfielder Mateo Kovacic is so far City’s only summer signing, with the Croatian having moved from Chelsea during June.

City saw captain Ilkay Gundogan leave for Barcelona on a free transfer and Riyad Mahrez last week completed a switch to Saudi Arabia club Al-Ahli in a £30m deal.

The Premier League champions will take on Arsenal in the FA Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.

Players are preparing to return to Premier League action beginning on August 11, with champions Manchester City looking to follow up an historic campaign last time.

Pep Guardiola’s side are favourites to add another title to their honour roll after last season’s Treble, though rivals will be confident of at least closing the gap.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the talking points ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

City to make history… again?

No English club have won four consecutive league titles, so Manchester City stand once again on the precipice of making history.

How the team respond to last season’s remarkable Treble – whether it will be the catalyst for domination domestically and in Europe or will hang over them like a cloud – is the main question ahead of Guardiola’s eighth season in charge, particularly after finishing the last campaign on such a high.

Manchester United added back-to-back titles after their Treble success in 1999, and with City seemingly not getting any weaker it will be hard to look past them matching their great rivals’ feat again.

Chelsea bidding to return to the elite

Chelsea finished last season in need of major surgery but early indications are that the club are using pre-season effectively, both on and off the pitch, to turn things around.

Transfer activity has looked promising with a bloated squad having been slimmed down, even if new head coach Mauricio Pochettino has emphasised the need for further cuts.

Recruitment has been more targeted to the team’s requirements than in previous windows, with Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku having impressed in attack on the tour of the United States, while player fitness has also improved.

A return to the Champions League next season after a dismal 12th-place finish last term will likely be viewed as the minimum requirement.

Added time to add up

A significant increase in time added on at the end of either half split opinion when it was introduced at last year’s World Cup, but the change is set to apply to Premier League games this season.

The stated aim from FIFA is to eradicate time-wasting and increase the proportion of a match that the ball is in play.

Luton looking to home comforts

Luton were one of the 22 original signatories to the document that founded the Premier League, but after being relegated in 1992 it has taken the Hatters 33 years to finally take their place back in England’s top flight.

Apart from the novelty of the club’s 10,356-capacity Kenilworth Road becoming the smallest ever Premier League ground – with its famous away entrance that involves effectively cutting through somebody’s back garden – there will be the question of how cut out Rob Edwards’ side are for competing in the world’s richest league.

There has been little transfer activity to reinforce Edwards’ promotion heroes so far, with Aston Villa’s Marvelous Nakamba the only player in with significant Premier League experience. The cramped, inhospitable conditions of their home ground could prove their greatest asset if they are to beat the drop.

The spectre of Saudi Arabia

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has said he is not concerned about the growing financial power of Saudi Arabia and its success so far in luring world stars, but the conversation about the Pro League’s emergence as an attractive home to players still in their prime is unlikely to die down soon.

The question of co-ownership and its potential to undermine Financial Fair Play will continue to be asked, as it was when Allan Saint-Maximin moved from Newcastle to Al Ahli – two clubs owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund – for £23million.

Masters may be moved to revise his outlook should the exodus of stars to the Gulf state continue.

Joleon Lescott warned that Erling Haaland cannot be expected to break even more records after his remarkable debut season in England.

Haaland arrived in the Premier League in style last term, scoring 36 goals - a competition record for a 38-game season.

The Manchester City star scored a further 16 goals in other competitions, finishing on a remarkable 52 for the campaign.

But former City defender Lescott does not believe it can be expected that the 23-year-old continues setting records.

"We can't expect him to continue to break a record every year. It'd be difficult to do that," Lescott said to Stats Perform.

"I think if he maintains the level that he set, then he's going to be an iconic player for the Premier League, for Manchester City.

"Defenders will have to adapt to what he does and what he's done because if they didn't then he would continue to score the goals that he has.

"So I'm sure there will be different approaches and different solutions for [playing against] Erling this season."

Haaland spearheaded City's charge to a treble last season, and Lescott sees his old team as being the very best in the world as it stands.

"They're the best team in Europe for sure," he said.

"Obviously, with the Super Cup and hopefully the Club World Cup to come soon, we can have that honour of being recognised as the best team in the world, but you have to win the honours in order to do that."

City ultimately won the Premier League last term by five points, but they were pushed hard by Arsenal, who led the top flight for much of the season.

And Lescott feels there will be plenty of challengers to their crown in the coming campaign.

"Obviously, Arsenal were there or thereabouts last season. So I anticipate that challenge," he said.

"Liverpool again, they've been on par to a certain extent with Manchester City over the last few seasons. Manchester United have recruited new players, so I'm sure every team going into the start of the season believes they can win."

After facing Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday, City play Burnley in their opening Premier League fixture, before taking on Europa League winners Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup.

Manchester City defender Nathan Ake has extended his contract with the club to 2027, the European and Premier League champions have announced.

The Netherlands international has prolonged his previous deal by two years, committing himself to the Etihad Stadium outfit for a further four seasons.

Ake was an integral member of Pep Guardiola’s squad during City’s memorable treble-winning 2022-23 campaign, making 41 appearances in all competitions.

The 28-year-old said: “This is the best club in the world, I have no doubts about that. Being a Manchester City player makes me incredibly proud every single day.

“It’s a football club that expects excellence in every area, which makes for the perfect environment to improve. It drives me on and makes me better. I am at the stage of my career where I want to keep developing and I can definitely do that here.

“Pep is the best manager in football – a genius who has made me see the game differently – so to be able to work with him for longer is a real privilege. I am so grateful to him for everything he has done for me, both personally and professionally.”

The former Chelsea player joined City in a £41million deal from Bournemouth three years ago.

He initially had to wait for his opportunity but came of age last term, proving a reliable performer at both centre-back and left-back.

Director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “We have been delighted with Nathan’s development, so it’s great news for this football club that he is extending his time with us.

“There is no doubt he was a very important part of our treble success last season, but I believe he can be even better.”

Riyad Mahrez has completed his move from Manchester City to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli, the Premier League outfit have announced.

City agreed a fee understood to be worth up to £30million with Al-Ahli for the Algeria international last week.

Mahrez, 32, spent five years at the Etihad Stadium and helped the club win 11 trophies, including four Premier League titles and the Champions League.

Mahrez told the treble winners’ website, mancity.com: “To play for Manchester City has been an honour and privilege.

“I came to City to win trophies and enjoy my football and I achieved all that and so much more.

“I have had five unforgettable years with this football club, working with unbelievable players, fantastic supporters, and the best manager in the world.

“Manchester City will forever be a huge and happy part of my life.”