No shortage of storylines as Manchester City prepare to face Arsenal in FA Community Shield on Sunday. You can start with Rodri, where there are both fitness concerns and doubts about his future with the club. City manager Enzo Maresca spoke about the Spanish midfielder, at his press conference earlier today.
“I just saw Rodri now in the building, I gave him a big hug,” Maresca said. “He looks good, so we’ll see what happens. Now we will have time to see each other a little bit more.”
Community Shield 2026
Date: Sunday, Aug. 16, 3pm BST
Watch: ESPN, ESPN Deportes
Streaming: ESPN+
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
Team News: Manchester City Arsenal
Predicted Starting XIs: Manchester City Arsenal
Man City Team News
Rodri was the last City player to report to the team this preseason, having underwent back surgery following his glorious World Cup winning run with Spain. Speaking of Spain, FC Barcelona have reportedly seen their bid for Rodri rejected, but reports indicate they’ll return with a bigger and more expensive bid.
Asked if he expects Rodri to stay this summer, Maresca replied:
“First of all, the transfer window is open. We can buy players, we can sell players, anything can happen.”
So a non-answer kind of answer there.
Staying with the midfield position group, Tijjani Reijnders is on his way out. He’s set to make a very surprising move to Al Qadsiah, on a £51m deal that should finalize well before this match kicks off.
Reijnders only joined up last summer, moving over from AC Milan for £46.5m.
He is no longer a consistent first team regular, but he will be a consistent starter in the Saudi Pro League. Their season has actually already started.
Finally, we get to Erling Haaland, who didn’t feature in the preseason at all, and missed the final portion of yesterday’s open training session. While this set alarm bells off, Maresca assures that he is indeed fine.
The manager explained: “He was ok, he had just a small thing behind ears, but he was ok.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.