The Premier League curtain raiser takes place at Wembley this Sunday as Premier League champions Manchester City face the Arsenal side they beat to the 2022/23 title in the 2024 FA Community Shield.
Arsenal may still be somewhat sore coming into this campaign following what many have labelled a capitulation in the second half of last season that resulted in them sacrificing their long-held position at the summit of the Premier League table, allowing the ever ruthless Manchester City to swoop in and seal their third straight title.
Whatever your opinion on the manner of Arsenal's latter portion of the campaign it's undeniable that they've made immense progress under Mikel Arteta during his tenure at the club and the team's foundations now look very strong, with many expecting them to continue to contend for major honours.
They were very active in the summer transfer window, recruiting the likes of Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurriën Timber with Grant Xhaka walking out of the exit door.
It still seems there's more to be done in terms of both incomings and outings, though, with the current squad very bloated and several of The Gunners' squad currently being courted by top clubs around England and Europe.
If you read much into pre-season you might not be that high on Arsenal's chances this time around with Mikel Arteta's men having looked flat in most of their friendlies this summer with very few positive performances to take confidence from.
This weekend will tell us much more, however, given it stands as the first competitive fixture of the campaign and it's a game that Arsenal will want to turn over rivals Manchester City even if only for the purpose of gaining a mild psychological edge over Pep Guardiola and co, which is something they may need for their own comfort after suffering so much at City's hands last season.
This one should be a fun encounter and we'll likely get the chance to see how new man Declan Rice looks in Arteta's system in a competitive environment.
It's tough to know what to expect here but Arsenal should field a strong XI and give as good as they get.
Manchester City are coming into this campaign off the back of the biggest high imaginable in Istanbul where they secured a historic treble, an achievement that is ingrained in the club's history books for the remainder of time.
It feels almost impossible that City can match last season this time around and their fans will have to hope they don't suffer from a typical hangover that often follows such a successful campaign, but allowing such a slip in intensity is not in Pep Guardiola's nature so he'll do all he can to ensure his squad are as rabidly competitive as ever.
There's been quite a change at the club in terms of personnel with long-serving and highly influential, squad members İlkay Gündoğan and Riyad Mahrez both leaving club, a pair of losses that will be tough to contend with.
More departures and arrivals are expected with Kyle Walker to Bayern Munich seemingly a distinct possibility and Aymeric Laporte likely to leave at some point so it's fair to expect another incoming or two.
Mateo Kovačić has already arrived from Chelsea and City's other main addition is expected to be Croatian centre back Joško Gvardiol in a deal that has seemingly been in the making for months now but has been stalling for one reason or another.
It's unlikely that Pep Guardiola's men will be quite as strong as last season, a treble winning campaign is unbeatable, but the chances of them being anything less than very, very good are also extremely slim so the rest of the league's 'big six' sides will be looking at them as the team to beat.
City have lost this competition the last two years in a row while still going on to win the Premier League so it probably won't tell us much about them, but it represents another chance to see their immense talents on show so it's worth tuning in for that alone.
For our Arsenal vs. Manchester City prediction, we're going for a 2-1 win for Pep Guardiola's side.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.