The final fixture of the first Premier League weekend of this season sees us at the Emirates as a new look Arsenal side play host to defending champions Manchester City. Both clubs are now stewarded by Spanish managers but who will come out on top.
For Arsenal it heralds a step into the unknown, former PSG boss Unai Emery was named as the man to take over from Arsene Wenger in June and wasted no time in getting down to business as he signed five new players over the Summer.
He also showed something of a ruthless streak as he showed England international Jack Wilshere the exit door after deciding not to offer him a new contract. Perhaps this though is exactly what the club needs after Wenger was accused of showing too much loyalty to his players.
The signings that Emery has made certainly look good on paper but getting names through the door is just a small part of the challenge. The bigger and more important part is making sure they can adapt to their new surroundings.
Something that could be more of a challenge when four of the five new signings are yet to have played in the Premier League, the only one to have a taste of the English top flight is defender Sokratis who had a previous loan spell at Liverpool
The fact that Emery has focused on primarily defensive minded signings speaks volumes for not only the apparent deficiencies that Arsenal have had in the past but also the confidence in the talents that he can call on in attack.
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexander Lacazette looking sharp in pre-season they will be looking to roll that form over to when it really matters. Although the test of Manchester City is the toughest opening day one of them all.
They come to London for the second weekend in a row and looking to build on their Community Shield victory win over Chelsea. Sergio Aguero was on hand to score a double as they Premier League holders made light work of their opposition.
City have been relatively quiet in the transfer market this Summer for the simple reason that they have not needed to change all that much. After winning the title at a canter last season, Pep Guardiola only needed to make the odd tweak to his squad.
That comes in the shape of Riyad Mahrez who joins from Leicester. The Algerian midfielder was linked with a move to the Etihad back in January only for it to frustratingly collapse on transfer deadline day.
The failure to complete the move saw Mahrez’s mind elsewhere and for the latter half of last season it was apparent that he did not want to be at the King Power Stadium. Thankfully for him City came back in for a second time and Guardiola finally got his man.
Where Mahrez plays though is anyone’s guess as Guardiola already has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal even before the arrival of the Algerian wing wizard. However, after starting in the Community Shield the former Leicester man will be confident of starting against Arsenal.
Not only that but he will be confident in helping his new teammates get off the mark and more importantly earn an opening weekend. City made light work of Arsenal here back in March as they won 3-0.
That game was arguably the final nail in the coffin for Arsene Wenger’s stint at Arsenal, so the pressure will be on Unai Emery to deliver from the start and although the defeat may not be that heavy this time around, Manchester City will be the favourites to pick up maximum points.