Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League clash between Arsenal and champions Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.
The hosts come into this match with a new manager at the helm for the first time since 1996 after Unai Emery took over from long-serving Arsene Wenger during the summer.
City, meanwhile, stormed to the Premier League title last season and broke numerous records along the way, and begin this campaign as favourites to become the first team to retain the trophy in 10 years.
Make sure you don't miss a moment of the action courtesy of our minute-by-minute updates below.
It is the start of the post-Arsene Wenger era for the Gunners and our first Premier League look at Man City's class of 2018-19 too, after they dominated the top flight in a way no other team has done last term.
Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have all already won this weekend while Liverpool are well on course for three points against West Ham, so the spotlight now turns to these two heavyweights.
Let's start with a look at the team news...
Well, there are one or two surprising calls from both managers, but we'll start with Unai emery's first competitive XI as Arsenal boss and he has notably picked Petr Cech as his number one ahead of summer signing Bernd Leno, who had been widely expected to get the nod.
Cech has been one of the greatest goalkeepers in Premier League history, but he made more mistakes leading to goals than anyone else last term and was linked with an exit this summer. He has something of a point to prove this time around.
There was talk that Danny Welbeck could be deployed in an unfamiliar defensive position - he even trained there earlier this week in preparation - but Emery has instead gone for Maitland-Niles in that position. Bellerin, meanwhile, takes up the opposite flank ahead of summer signing Lichtsteiner.
Perhaps the most promising summer signing for Arsenal was Lucas Torreira - a combative Uruguayan midfielder who should add some much-needed steel to the team - but he has to settle for a place on the bench today.
Ramsey joins the creative duo of Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the trio just behind the striker, and it is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who has been chosen ahead of Lacazette to lead the line. Aubameyang did well despite Arsenal's struggles during the second half of last season, scoring 10 goals and creating four more in 13 Premier League appearances.
© Reuters
De Bruyne returned to training earlier this week but is available for selection, although Sane's omission is perhaps the biggest surprise considering he was left out of Germany's World Cup squad. Sane was brilliant at times last term, but both Bernardo and debutant Riyad Mahrez are preferred to him this time.
The City team sheet suggests that Mahrez and Sterling - who unlike De Bruyne does start despite going to the final weekend of the World Cup - will play in the wider roles, while Bernardo fills in alongside Fernandinho and Gundogan in the midfield three.
Guardiola is spoilt for choice with his defensive options this season, and it is notable that he has gone for Stones and Laporte in this game ahead of Kompany and Otamendi, the latter of whom was arguably the best midfielder in the entire league last season.
at the other end of the pitch, Aguero once again leads the line having scored twice in that win at Wembley to move past 200 goals for Man City. Gabriel Jesus, meanwhile, has to make do with a place on a very strong bench.
© Reuters
There is certainly an increased air of optimism around the club ahead of the new campaign following the anger and then apathy which defined the latter stages of Arsene Wenger's reign, with Gunners fans hopeful that Unai Emery can bring about the change they have demanded for so long now.
It can often be very difficult to take over from such a long-serving manager whose habits perhaps became ingrained in the club itself, but Emery brings with him a winning track record, with three successive Europa League triumphs at Sevilla and a domestic treble with PSG last season the defining highlights on his CV.
The visit of the champions will be difficult enough, particularly when we can assume the players are still getting to grips with the new manager's system, but after that they travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in their second game.
Arsenal recorded their lowest finish since 1994-95 by ending the season in sixth place, missing out on a place in the top four for the second year in a row following 20 successive top-four finishes. Breaking back into the Champions League will be priority number one for Emery, but to do that he must bridge a 12-point gap from last season.
Top of the agenda for Emery to sort out from last season must surely be the team's defensive record, with Arsenal conceded 51 times in the Premier League last season - the most they have let in throughout a top-flight campaign since 1983-84.
© Reuters
It was that away record which really let them down, as here at the Emirates they were impressive. Indeed, if only home form counted Arsenal would have finished second in the table, only three points adrift of Man City, while only the champions scored more in front of their own fans too.
Arsenal won their final five Premier League home games last season, scoring 18 goals in the process, although their only defeat in their last eight such matches came at the hands of today's opponents.
It is the first time the Gunners have begun their season against the reigning top-flight champions since the 1970-71 campaign, when they drew 2-2 with Everton.
Arsenal's Invincibles, Jose Mourinho's first Chelsea side and various incarnations of Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United may argue, but last season's Man City side are surely the greatest the Premier League has ever seen. The challenge now is to create a dynasty, and they certainly looked capable of doing that with their performances last term.
Indeed, no team has retained the Premier League title since Manchester United made it three in a row in 2008-09, with Chelsea, City, United and Leicester sharing it between themselves since then.
There are a raft of stats which show just how impressive City were last term, but even they do not do justice to just how pleasing on the eye they were for the vast majority of the campaign.
Numerous records were broken en route to lifting the trophy, including but not limited to the following:
Most points in a season (100)
Most goals (106)
Biggest title-winning margin (19 points)
Most Premier League wins in a row (18)
Most wins in a season (32)
Most away wins (16)
Most away points (50)
Best goal difference (+79)
Guardiola's side memorably got off to a brilliant start last season, and the fixture lists suggests the same could be true this time around. This is a difficult test away to what may be a rejuvenated Arsenal side, but after this they face Huddersfield, Wolves, Newcastle, Fulham, Cardiff and Brighton in their next six, meaning that they will take on all three newly-promoted sides in their opening six games.
© Reuters
It was that away form which really set them apart; had only home form counted then City would have won the title by just three points, but they picked up 16 more points than the next best away team last term, also scoring the most goals (45) and conceded the fewest (13) on their travels.
Guardiola's side will also hope of break a hoodoo which has seen the reigning champions lose their opening game in the past two campaigns - something which has never happened three seasons in a row in English top-flight history.
It has been a fairly quiet post-season, though, with fewer pre-season games than most and just the one major signing. City went on tour to the United States for the ICC, where they suffered mixed results with defeats to Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool before beating Bayern Munich.
This is a difficult one to call as Arsenal should be right up for it, and Man City are missing a couple of key players such as De Bruyne and David Silva. I expect Arsenal to be a lot more difficult to beat under Emery, but this City side is on another level to everyone else in England at the moment so I am going to back an away win - but not by much!
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Arsenal 1-2 Manchester City
The most recent of those was a 3-0 win for Man City here when they scored all of their goals inside the opening 33 minutes, just days after winning by the same scoreline in that EFL Cup final at Wembley.
The reverse fixture last season came in May, and once again City ran out victorious with a 3-1 triumph courtesy of goals from De Bruyne, Aguero and Jesus, with Lacazette responding for Arsenal.
However, the last time these two met on the opening day of the season came in 1994, when George Graham's Arsenal ran out 3-0 winners at Highbury.
ARSENAL STARTING XI: Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Sokratis, Maitland-Niles; Guendouzi, Xhaka, Ramsey, Ozil, Mkhitaryan; Aubameyang
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy; Fernandinho, Gundogan, Bernardo, Mahrez, Sterling; Aguero
The England winger picks the ball up on the left flank and is allowed to dip inside across the edge of the box and get a shot away. Cech is unsighted but should still do better as Sterling blasts his effort in from 20 yards.
A dream start for Man City, but a worrying one for Arsenal!
© Reuters
50 - Raheem Sterling has scored 50 Premier League goals, with his strike against Arsenal only his third from outside the box. Bullseye. pic.twitter.com/ZNrwYRh0oa
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 12, 2018
5️⃣0️⃣ Premier League goals up for @sterling7!
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 12, 2018
Follow live updates of the Renault Super Sunday clash as Unai Emery's @Arsenal take on Premier League champions @ManCity live on Sky Sports Premier League: https://t.co/WY5xw1DOtk #TakeYourSeat https://t.co/gcjSSMwpYH
Man City have been by far the better team here but have been unable to build on their 1-0 lead, so Arsenal are still in the game. They will need something to change if they are to get back into it, though.
The England winger collected the ball on the left flank before cutting inside and blasting his finish past Cech from the edge of the box. Bellerin, Guendouzi and Cech all should have done better, but take nothing away from Sterling's effort.
Cech has kept the score down, then, but he has also been shaky in possession and almost passed the ball into his own net at one stage when trying to play out from the back.
The full-back needed to keep his composure, though, and instead blasted the ball straight at Ederson, who made the save.
Man City are unsurprisingly ahead on all the major stats, boasting 60% possession and double the amount of shots as Arsenal. You can see all of the match stats by clicking here.
Mendy is the provider, smuggling a low cross into a dangerous area of the box which Bernardo meets with an emphatic first-time finish. Petr Cech had no chance.
🎙️ "Bernardo Silva smacks in City's second!" 💥
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 12, 2018
Follow live updates of the Renault Super Sunday clash as Unai Emery's @Arsenal take on Premier League champions @ManCity live on Sky Sports Premier League: https://t.co/WY5xw1DOtk #TakeYourSeat https://t.co/xwuiW88MWn
There is indeed plenty of work to do for the Gunners if they are to get back up to the level of the very best teams in England, with City making this away trip to the Emirates look pretty comfortable today despite not being at their best themselves and missing a number of key first-team players.
Goals from Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva separated the two sides in the end, and it looks as though City will once again be the team to beat this season.
Thanks you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's match as Man City bring the curtain down on the opening weekend of the Premier League season with a 2-0 win over Unai Emery's Arsenal. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!