Why this Community Shield might actually have meaning

It’s a safe bet none of the 22 players who start tomorrow’s Community Shield spent their formative years dreaming of winning this ‘prize’.

Most years, the biggest thing in this game’s favour is it signals a return to the real stuff is close. Manchester City treated it as a glorified pre-season friendly 12 months ago, barely breaking sweat in going down to a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal.

Gunners fans kidded by the emphatic nature of their sides’ win would quickly shed their optimism after the opening eight Premier League games brought a paltry tally of two wins, a start that torpedoed title ambitions before Halloween.