It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Calm down kiddies, it’s not quite Christmas time yet. It’s even better! Sunday marks the return of English football, which kicks off at 9:30 AM ET with the annual charity match, the FA Community Shield.

This year pits two familiar foes, Arsenal and ManUre, who meet each other in the traditional season opener for the second year in a row, and the fourth time in seven seasons.

For those of you who are new to all of this, there’s no actual points at stake, but there is a nice little trophy, the “Community Shield”, up for grabs. Featuring the previous season’s Premier League champions pitted against last season’s FA Cup champions, all of the proceeds from ticket sales go to charity.

Superstitious Arsenal fans know that winning the Shield doesn’t always bode well for the Gunners’ championship hopes. After winning the Shield in 1998, 1999, and 2002, Arsenal finished second in the League behind ManUre in each of those seasons. However, Arsenal lost last year’s match, and then proceeded to go the entire length of the League season undefeated on their way to clinching the championship.

Therefore, the majority of Gooners will be satisfied with a good showing by the team, and won’t necessarily be devestated by a loss. It’ll be the first time that many of us will see new-boy Robin Van Persie, who has had a spectacular pre-season training tour in Slovenia, Austria and Amsterdam. Jose Antonio Reyes also continues to impress, and I’m particularly keen to see his progress.

Established stars such as Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira will not play on Sunday, as both are nursing injuries, as is Sol Campbell. In fact, Sol could miss as many as five or six weeks, due to an Achilles injury.

Regardless of the outcome, it’s just exciting to see the Arsenal back in action again, and after tomorrow, the games count.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS!