Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the prestige friendly between Chelsea and Arsenal at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Two of last term's top six sides in the Premier League face off in the Irish capital as the International Champions Cup edges towards its conclusion, with both sides now under new management following last season's disappointment.

The Gunners come into this match on the back of a morale-boosting 5-1 win over a second-string Paris Saint-Germain side last time out, while the Blues beat Inter Milan on penalties following a 1-1 draw in normal time. For those keeping check, Chelsea are two points worse off than their opponents in the ICC standings after playing a game fewer, as Arsenal also drew with Atletico Madrid.

ARSENAL TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Cech, Bellerin, Sokratis, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Elneny, Ramsey, Guendouzi, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Ozil

SUBS: Leno, Chambers, Holding, Mavropanos, Maitland-Niles, Nelson, Smith Rowe, Iwobi, Nketiah, Lacazette

Starting with a look at the team fielded by Unai Emery, the Spaniard has elected to go with former Chelsea stopper Petr Cech in goal from the off, despite Bernd Leno being tipped to start regularly next season. Emery has experimented with a few different formations so far during pre-season, and this looks to me as though it is a 4-2-3-1, which includes new recruit Matteo Guendouzi in central midfield.

Danny Welbeck and Lucas Torreira are the only players yet to be given any minutes by Emery due to their World Cup exertions, although the latter - a £26.5m purchase earlier this summer - has linked up with his new teammates for this latest leg of their pre-season tour. Instead, it is left to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to lead the line, with Alexandre Lacazette providing back-up.

Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are all included from the off, with plenty of focus on Ramsey in particular tonight as he has been linked with a move to the opposition in recent days. The other players I have yet to mention are defensive midfielder Mohamed Elneny, now settling back in after his World Cup exploits, summer signing Sokratis Papastathopoulos and full-backs Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac. This is a strong Arsenal XI.

CHELSEA TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Caballero, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger, Alonso, Fabregas, Jorginho, Barkley, Pedro, Morata, Hudson-Odoi

SUBS: Green, Bulka, Ampadu, Emerson, Christensen, Zappacosta, Drinkwater, Bakayoko, Loftus-Cheek, Moses, Musonda, Piazon, Abraham

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri named the same starting lineup for his first time friendlies in charge, but three changes have been made on the back of the penalty shootout win against Inter Milan last week. Cesar Azpilicueta is among those to come into the side, and the versatile defender has been given the captain's armband for tonight's clash. The front three again consistent of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Pedro, while Alvaro Morata returns through the middle.

Morata is back after being given time off to attend the birth of his twins, and the Spaniard is one of those who perhaps has a point to prove. Chelsea have been linked with numerous strikers during the off-season, namely Robert Lewandowski and Gonzalo Higuain, but Morata will be keen to show that he is the perfect number nine heading into his second season at Stamford Bridge. Substitute striker Tammy Abraham, too, has an uncertain future in West London.

Willy Caballero is selected between the sticks in the prolonged absence of World Cup semi-finalist Thibaut Courtois, but the back four could well be the same setup as Sarri goes with for Chelsea's Premier League opener, consisting of Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger and Marcos Alonso. Elsewhere, Ross Barkley starts in midfield for the third match running, while Cesc Fabregas and solitary summer signing Jorginho are also included.

Plenty of questions surround the futures of Eden Hazard, Willian and Thibaut Courtois, and all three of those men remain absent for Chelsea due to their World Cup exploits earlier this summer. Arsenal appear to have the more settled side at the present moment, which is a major advantage for new boss Unai Emery heading into his maiden campaign in English football.

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It is very much all change for both of these sides heading into the new campaign, then, but a season of transition does not mean that either can afford to miss out on the top four. Chelsea have become a Yo-Yo club of sorts, winning the title one year and then slipping well off the pace the next, but Blues supporters will points out to their Arsenal counterparts that they have at least won the Premier League a couple of times over the past three years.

In terms of Chelsea, it is now down to Maurizio Sarri to steady the ship, much in the same way as compatriot Antonio Conte did before him. Speaking at his unveiling last month, the Italian promised to bring "entertaining" football to Stamford Bridge, which was the case across his three years with former club Napoli. As well as winning many admirers, Napoli finished second in Serie A during two of those three years.

Some will argue, though, that Napoli failed last season as they slipped away in the title race, albeit finishing above the 90-point mark - unprecedented for the runners-up. Sarri, unlike Conte, arrives at Stamford Bridge without any past record of success - in terms of silverware, at least - and he also carried some excess baggage due to various controversial comments made in the past.

Like Conte, however, the man he also previously succeeded at Arezzo in Italy, Sarri demands the absolute most out of each and every one of his players. Those demands can sometimes have a negative effect, as witnessed during Conte's second season at Stamford Bridge, though the recently-departed boss will rightly point out that he did bow out with a Premier League title and an FA Cup winner's medal. Repeat that, and it is fair to say that Sarri will have achieved what he set out to do.

Chelsea became stale last season, even accounting for that FA Cup triumph, yet only Jorginho has been brought in during the summer transfer window, which has just eight days left to run. As talented as Jorginho is - and his performance against Inter in particular showed how crucial his understanding with Sarri will be on the field - the Italy international alone will not be enough to plug the huge gap on Manchester City. Sarri will hope that at least one more player will arrive in the next week.

Perhaps more important than bringing in a new player, though, is keeping hold of Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and Willian. Hazard in particular is crucial to Chelsea, and the Blues will be desperate to get at least one more year out of the Belgian before reevaluating. The situation is slightly different for the other two, who seem to be more dispensable, although this late in the window it will be next to impossible to sign a direct replacement.

On the field, Chelsea beat Perth Glory 1-0 in their opening pre-season fixture, securing the win through an early Pedro strike. Sarri may have made a winning start, but speaking immediately after that match Down Under he confessed to being a little disappointed by his side's display, having tailed off in the second half - standard for a team's first pre-season outing, some would suggest! That is not quite the case for taskmaster Sarri, though, as Chelsea's player are starting to understand.

Sarri went with a 4-3-3 formation in that Perth friendly and stuck with it for the 1-1 draw with Inter in Nice on Saturday. Pedro once again found the net early on in that latest match, only for Roberto Gagliardini to level things up to set up that penalty shootout. This is the last of Chelsea's friendlies prior to the annual Community Shield curtain-raiser against Manchester City at the weekend, meaning one final chance for many to impress.

Chelsea's World Cup absentees are also due to arrive shortly, with Willian believed to have returned to training on Wednesday, five days after initially being told to report back - a passport blunder was allegedly to blame for that delay, which has reportedly left Sarri feeling frustrated. The Blues do have another friendly after facing Man City, meanwhile, with Lyon travelling to Stamford Bridge in a week's time.

Maurizio Sarri, pictured here on the first day in the job, has been tasked with guiding Chelsea back into the top four following a disappointing Premier League campaign under Antonio Conte last time out. The Blues did go on to lift the FA Cup, though, adding to the league crown from the year prior, so Sarri has his work cut out to match the achievements of Antonio Conte, who become increasingly difficult to work for.

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PREVIOUS MEETINGS! These two sides have met close to 200 times in competitive matches down the years, including five times in the 2017-18 campaign alone. Arsenal won the Community Shield contest nearly a year ago to the day, coming out on top on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time, while also winning 2-1 on aggregate in their EFL Cup semi-final tie. The two league matches finished all square at 0-0 and 2-2.

While change may be the norm at Stamford Bridge under Roman Abramovich, it is something Arsenal have been reluctant to do over the past couple of decades. After 22 years at the helm, Arsene Wenger made way following another poor Premier League showing last time out, and the Gunners hierarchy decided to turn to Unai Emery to lift them out of their slump. Not the first choice of many, granted, but Emery has won trophies in the past with Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain.

Arsenal have finished outside the top four in back-to-back seasons, so the top target for Emery this season - some would say the only target - is to nail down a Champions League spot, while also taking the cup competitions seriously. It has been a quietly efficient first summer in charge for the Spaniard, having brought in the experienced Stephan Lichsteiner, no-nonsense defender Sokratis, talented central midfielder Lucas Torreira and the unheralded Matteo Guendouzi.

Emery has also managed to get rid of some of the deadweight - whether Jack Wilshere fits into that category is open to debate - while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette have now had time to settle. Aubameyang's form in the second half of last season offers hopes that Arsenal really can achieve something this season at long last, and goals have certainly not been a problem during pre-season so far.

The Gunners kicked off life under Emery with an 8-0 thrashing of Boreham Wood, before then playing a couple of matches behind closed doors. The 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid was a tougher test, with Emile Smith Rowe grabbing the headlines thanks to a stunning goal to cancel out Luciano Vietto's opener in Singapore, before then knocking five goals past the skeleton side fielded by Paris Saint-Germain.

That 5-1 thumping of PSG would have been particularly sweet for Emery, even if it was a second-string side, having been offloaded by the Parisians at the end of last season. Ozil, Lacazette (2), Rob Holding and Eddie Nketiah were all on target in Singapore, with Emery opting for a 4-2-3-1 formation and a 4-4-2 variant so far this summer. The tactically-aware Spaniard has also shifted to a back three in the last two games, so that it one to keep an eye on tonight.

Arsenal follow up this high-profile friendly with a clash against Lazio in Sweden on Saturday to conclude their pre-season campaign. Then comes that huge opening game against champions Manchester City - welcome to English football, Unai! - and a trip to Chelsea on the second weekend of the Premier League campaign. With a rejuvenated West Ham United also pencilled in for the third weekend, it is an extremely tough start for the Gunners.

With kickoff at the Aviva Stadium fast approaching, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.

Cesar Azpilicueta: "It's been really good since the first day. We've been learning his methods and I think the team looks better with every minute. We know we don't have a lot of time to prepare for [the new season] so we have to work hard to pick up the movements we want to do. I think we saw a good team against Inter and we have to play collectively to get the results."

Unai Emery: "Each match, you are looking for every player to transmit intensity, aggression, to show that they want to win and are prepared to work hard to win. We want to do that with style, with a personality, with protagonists on the pitch. We want every player to create things and find things when they're on the ball. When we are without the ball, we also want to show ambition to recover the ball quickly."

Azpilicueta, who looks likely to slot in at full-back this season if Sarri opts for a back four, is adamant that Chelsea are improving "every minute" under their new manager. The problem for the ex-Napoli boss, however, is that he has so little time to work with his new players in between jet-setting across the globe; this one of three games left to play before the real stuff begins in a week-and-a-half.

Emery insists that Arsenal will take this International Champions Cup clash very seriously, meanwhile, and there is no doubt that more focus will be paid to the scoreline of this match compared to the other three friendlies to date. Chelsea won this summer fixture 3-0 last season, although Arsenal got the better of things when they met in their five competitive games during the season itself.

Both sets of players have now made their way down the Aviva Stadium tunnel and onto the field itself, with kickoff in Dublin just a couple of minutes away...

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KICKOFF:  We are up and running in the Irish capital in this International Champions Cup clash. A reminder that Arsenal have made one change tonight - Petr Cech taking over from Bernd Leno - while Chelsea show three alterations.

This is the eighth time that these sides have met in the last 13 months, yet plenty of intrigue surrounds this latest fixture due to the two sides being in a transitional period. Luiz carries the ball forward and picks out Morata, who loses possession.

CHANGE TO ARSENAL XI! It has just been pointed out that Aaron Ramsey, who was named in Arsenal's starting lineup, did not come out of the tunnel at the start of the match. A slight knock is to blame for that, apparently.

GOAL!  CHELSEA 1-0 ARSENAL (ANTONIO RUDIGER)

Chelsea yet again make a fast start to proceedings - a familiar theme throughout pre-season - as Antonio Rudiger powers Cesc Fabregas's corner past Petr Cech via his head. As simple as you like for the centre-back, who was simply not picked up by anyone in red and white despite his proximity to goal.

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Some great interplay from Chelsea culminates in Fabregas picking out Alvaro Morata in a good position, but the offside flag brought an end to the attack. I've finally established that Emile Smith Rowe is the man brought in to replace the injured Ramsey.

Chelsea have been the better side in the early stages of this London derby; Arsenal have yet to really get going. The Blues are playing some slick football and have an early goal to build on thanks to that powerful Antonio Rudiger header.

Fabregas, it is worth pointing out, was booed by the Arsenal fans in attendance prior to setting up Ruidger's early opener. Now that the game has settled into a rhythm, it appears as though both teams have gone with a 4-3-3 formation tonight.

PENALTY!  Callum Hudson-Odoi has space to run into down the left and Arsenal's backline is left badly exposed. The youngster cut into the middle of the box and was caught by the trailing leg of Hector Bellerin, giving Chelsea a chance to double their tally from the spot.

SAVE!  A terrible penalty from Alvaro Morata, whose lack of confidence from the end of last season may well be carried into the next one. Petr Cech, who has a poor return from saving spot kicks, got down low to keep out the weakly-hit effort.

Morata headed wide from the resulting corner as the Gunners continue to hold on in Dublin. The Blues should be a couple of goals to the good against an Arsenal side that have looked pretty poor in the opening quarter of this contest.

Hudson-Odoi has looked incredibly bright during pre-season, and he is giving Bellerin a real tough time of things at the Aviva Stadium. The youngster, who won a penalty a little earlier, this time shoots into an opposition player after cutting inside.

Antonio Rudiger's sixth-minute header is the difference between the two sides so far. The only other chance in Dublin saw Alvaro Morata miss from the penalty spot, but that let-off has not really got any sort of response out of Arsenal.

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Just seen a replay of the Rudiger goal at Emile Smith Rowe looked as though he should have been picking up the goalscorer. In the youngster's defence, he only found out that he was starting this match less than 10 minutes before kickoff.

SAVE!  Chelsea are in again; Chelsea fail to convert again. Alvaro Morata was played through on goal, but the Spanish striker was denied by Petr Cech down low - good save by the Arsenal keeper, in fairness. Callum Hudson-Odoi once again played a key part in that move.

A post on Arsenal's Twitter account a few moments ago has confirmed that Aaron Ramsey pulled out of the starting lineup for precautionary reasons. We are told that it is a calf issue that has plagued the Welshman on this occasion.

There has been a huge gulf in quality between the sides in the opening half an hour at the Aviva Stadium - Arsenal have very much been second best throughout. The biggest concern for Sarri will be that his side are not two or three goals ahead.

SHOT!  Arsenal's best moment yet, as Mesut Ozil sends a deep ball into the path of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who under pressure took one touch to set up Emile Smith Rowe. The youngster's first-time effort floated a fair way over the crossbar.

All of a sudden Arsenal have finally clicked into gear, pretty much coinciding with Cech's save from Morata's low shot. Some good play culminated in Mohamed Elneny getting a cross into the middle, where Antonio Rudiger was waiting to clear.

CHANCE!  Incredible how this game has swung over the past five minutes. Another flowing move from Arsenal, starting with Petr Cech's pass into midfield, ended with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang somehow failing to tap in from a Henrik Mkhitaryan cross. Azpilicueta may well have got a slight touch to put him off.

Azpilicueta did not get a touch on that Mkhitaryan cross, so that has to go down as a bad miss for Aubameyang. Arsenal growing more and more in confidence now, with new signing Matteo Guendouzi shooting wide from a little over 25 yards out.

CHANCE!  The chances are piling up for Arsenal now, but they have still yet to get a shot on target. Sead Kolasinac exchanged passes with Emile Smith Rowe and was effectively through, though under pressure from Willy Caballero he turned his back to goal and attempted - and failed - to lay the ball off to a teammate.

OFF THE LINE!  This has been a great first half. Callum Hudson-Odoi, the best player on the field, bursts clean through on goal but cannot quite sneak the ball through the legs of Petr Cech. The ball looped into the air and was headed off the line by Shkodran Mustafi.

An absolute howler from Willy Caballero, who cannot keep hold of a cross into the box. Sead Kolasinac had a chance to shoot, but the angle proved too tight and the ball was blocked behind for a corner. Real end-to-end stuff now.

HALF TIME:  CHELSEA 1-0 ARSENAL

The half-time whistle sounds at the Aviva Stadium, where Chelsea hold a one-goal lead over their London rivals. It has been one of the better pre-season friendlies so far, with the first half packed with chances. As it stands, Maurizio Sarri will be the happier of the two managers.

Arsenal were dealt a blow before the friendly got under way following the loss of Aaron Ramsey to what the club put down to a minor calf injury. Ramsey's place in the starting lineup was taken by youngster Emile Smith Rowe, and it was the youngster - not helped by the late change - who appeared to lose Antonio Rudiger for the game's opening goal - the centre-back powering Cesc Fabregas's header out of Petr Cech's reach.

Chelsea's fast start should have been rewarded with a second goal, only for Alvaro Morata to meet his match in Cech with a weak penalty after Callum Hudson-Odoi forced Hector Bellerin into making a challenge inside the box. Hudson-Odoi maintained his impressive pre-season form throughout the first half, slotting Morata through on goal less than 10 minutes after the penalty miss, with the Spaniard once again being denied by Cech down low.

That Morata miss proved to be the catalyst for Arsenal to finally spark into life, and they really should have been on level terms 35 minutes in when a swift move culminated in Henrikh Mkhitaryan spotting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the back post. Aubameyang failed to make any contact to the ball from a glorious position, though, having been put off by Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta.

Sead Kolasinac then squandered a good chance, moments before Hudson-Odoi burst through up the other end and had his shot kept out by a mixture of Cech and Shkodran Mustafi in what was proving to be an end-to-end affair. Plenty still to play for in the second 45 at the Aviva Stadium, so let us check out both sides' benches...

CHELSEA SUBS: Green, Bulka, Ampadu, Emerson, Christensen, Zappacosta, Drinkwater, Bakayoko, Loftus-Cheek, Moses, Musonda, Piazon, Abraham

ARSENAL SUBS: Leno, Chambers, Holding, Mavropanos, Maitland-Niles, Nelson, Iwobi, Nketiah, Lacazette

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KICKOFF:  Five shots on target in that first half for Chelsea compared to zero for Arsenal. Looks as though Chelsea have made a couple of changes; Danny Drinkwater and Andreas Christensen are on for Cesc Fabregas and David Luiz.

A serious breakdown in communication between Sokratis and Cech leads to the former putting the ball out for a needless corner, which ultimately came to little. Confirmation that Arsenal made no changes at the half-time interval.

SAVE!  Petr Cech is certainly being made to earn his wages tonight. This latest effort from Callum Hudson-Odoi was not the best, but it was still on target and the experienced keeper had to make the save. Arsenal still await their first on-target attempt.

Just the two changes made at the interval, so the game is flowing quite well at the moment - that is not always the case in pre-season friendlies. Both managers will no doubt make a raft of changes as we enter the final half an hour of the match.

Just that one Hudson-Odoi shot so far since the restart. Certain players are already starting to fade, with the gruelling nature of the opening 45 minutes beginning to take its toll. Plenty of options for both managers from their benches.

Arsenal work the corner to Mohamed Elneny on the edge of the opposition box, but the shot was struck into a sea of bodies. The Gunners are starting to turn the screw a little in search of a equaliser at the Aviva Stadium.

Just the one change made by Unai Emery to his starting lineup today, remember, and that came in goal, so we are starting to get a good idea of who will start against Manchester City in a little over a week's time. The hour mark is fast approaching here.

CLOSE!  Hudson-Odoi has been superb tonight and is surely in contention to start the Community Shield clash in four days' time. The youngster helps earn a corner, from which Antonio Rudiger again ghosts in unmarked, only to this time power the ball wide.

Aubameyang gets in behind but decides against going for goal as the angle was against him, instead cutting it back towards Emile Smith Rowe. A couple of crosses into the Chelsea box were then dealt with.

SUBS! Here comes those predicted changes. Sarri brings on Zappacosta, Abraham Emerson and Moses on for Azpilicueta, Alonso, Morata and Pedro - four Spaniards making way in one go. Iwobi is one for Smith Rowe in Arsenal's first change.

The second period has not been as lively as the first, it is fair to say, with chances being kept to a minimum. Arsenal are the side in need of a goal after falling behind inside six minutes to a powerful Antonio Rudiger header.

SAVE!  Arsenal starting to test Willy Caballero now, with substitute Alex Iwobi's tame effort being kept out. Unai Emery has no doubt had a word with the winger, who has done in four minutes what none of his teammates could do in an hour.

ARSENAL SUB! Sead Kolasinac picked up a knock in the first half but was able to continue, although the defender may have caused more damaged as he has just signalled to be taken off. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is on in his place.

ARSENAL SUBS! This match is petering out quite badly in this second half, not helped by the number of changes. Henrikh Mkhitaryan makes way for Arsenal after getting more than 70 minutes under his belt, with Reiss Nelson on in his place. Lacazette is also on for Aubameyang in a straight swap.

We are now pretty much into the final 15 minutes at the Aviva Stadium. After a lively first half, it has been a far quieter second period with very few chances at either end of the field.

Ethan Ampadu was brought on for Antonio Rudiger when Sarri made his raft of changes a little earlier - that one passed me by. The Wales international produced a good block to keep out a goal-bound shot as Chelsea aim to protect their lead.

CHANCE!  Huge change for Alexandre Lacazette to add to his pre-season goals tally. The substitute striker had only Willy Caballero to beat, but after opening up his body he could only curl the ball past the far post. Disappointing attempt!

SUBS! Willy Caballero is replaced by Marcin Bulka and Ross Barkley makes way for Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Arsenal also change things around as Hector Bellerin, who struggled against Hudson-Odoi in the first half, leaves the field for Calum Chambers to come out.

Bakayoko is also on for Jorginho, incidentally, in those latest raft of changes. Into the final eight minutes now in Dublin - hopefully the match will be given a chance to breathe a little, much like it did in the first half.

This really has been a disappointing second half, I'm afraid. Just the one notable chance for either side - Alexandre Lacazette failing to convert when through on goal 10 minutes ago. Still time for Arsenal to find a leveller.

SAVE!  Willy Caballero barely had a stop to make all evening. His replacement, Marcin Bulka, has been on the field for just a short time but has already produced a wonder save. The fourth-choice keeper got down low to somehow keep out a close-range effort from Alex Iwobi.

Two minutes to go and Arsenal are the side looking the more likely to score the game's second goal. Iwobi forced Bulka into that wonderful save and Lacazette missed a presentable opportunity a little over 10 minutes ago.

SAVE!  Another stunning save from Marcin Bulka, this time to keep out Alexandre Lacazette's powerful drive. Arsenal throwing everything they have at their opponents now, but time is fast running out for the Gunners.

GOAL!  CHELSEA 1-1 ARSENAL (ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE)

Arsenal level up the match in the final minute through substitute Alexandre Lacazette! Mesut Ozil slipped the ball through for Reiss Nelson, who in turn fired it across goal for the Frenchman to convert from three yards out. Penalties await!

FULL TIME:  CHELSEA 1-1 ARSENAL

That Lacazette goal came from pretty much the final touch of the match. As is the case in all International Champions Cup matches, we will now go straight to a penalty shootout...

Arsenal beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties to claim the additional point in Dublin. A late goal from Alexandre Lacazette cancelled out Antonio Rudiger's early opener in the International Champions Cup clash to set up a shootout, and second-half substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek was the only one who failed to convert.

That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from the Aviva Stadium. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, and be sure to join us on Sunday afternoon for updates from the Community Shield showdown between Chelsea and Manchester City. Thanks for joining!