Arsenal lined up for Community Shield – EVEN if they lose to Man City in FA Cup semi-final

Arsenal could play in the Community Shield even if they lose next Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final to Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s side — and Manchester United, who face Chelsea in the other tie — could be unavailable to face champions Liverpool next month due to European commitments.

The FA are determined to stage the Community Shield, the traditional season curtain-raiser between the champions and FA Cup winners, at the end of August to avoid having to pay a rebate to broadcasters and are looking at contingency plans should City or United win the Wembley final.

Arsenal last won the Community Shield back in 2017 and are being lined up for this year’s tie

Arsenal could replace Manchester City if Pep Guardiola’s side make Champions League final

If City were to reach the Champions League final on August 23 or United make it to the Europa League final two days earlier they would be unavailable to contest the Shield on the proposed date of August 30.

The FA’s preferred option if the Cup winners are unavailable is to invite the most successful club in the Shield’s history, which is Arsenal, who have lifted the trophy 15 times.

The Gunners were the last club to decline to take part in the then Charity Shield in 1971, when they arranged lucrative friendlies after winning the Double, which led to FA Cup runners-up Liverpool meeting and beating Division Two champions Leicester.

Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott lift the Shield after beating Chelsea in the 2017 edition

Burnley chairman Mike Garlick’s determination to keep a firm control of the club’s wage bill is demonstrated by the way he is playing hardball in contract negotiations with academy players. 

Promising striker Max Thompson is yet to sign a new deal with Burnley and his representatives are understood to be haggling over a few hundred pounds a week. 

Burnley’s parsimony has become a major source of tension between Garlick and manager Sean Dyche, who has been frustrated at the club’s failure to agree contract extensions for several players for the duration of Project Restart and is unhappy at his limited transfer budget. 

Mike Garlick is playing hardball in contract negotiations with Burnley’s academy players

FA can’t afford top target

The FA have suffered a setback in their search for a successor to England women’s coach Phil Neville, with two-times World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis pricing herself of the job.

The successful coach of Team USA at the 2015 and 2019 World Cups is understood to have wanted a salary in excess of £700,000 to move to England, which the FA are unable to meet, particularly in the current climate of major job losses and cuts.

Ellis’s US contract expires in October so she would have been well placed to succeed Neville, particularly as her former assistant Dawn Scott joined the FA as the senior women’s high performance coach last year.

The FA are now looking elsewhere however, with Holland coach Sarina Wiegman and Manchester United’s Casey Stoney the leading candidates.

Jill Ellis (right) has priced herself out of becoming the next head coach of England Women

The expected introduction of salary caps in the Football League next season is leading to pay rises for young players, who will be exempt from the new limits. 

Any players aged 21 or under will not be counted towards the new annual wage caps, which are set to be introduced in the Championship, League One and League Two at £18million, £2.5m and £1.5m respectively. 

Agents have already cottoned on to the new heightened competition for young talent, which has triggered wage inflation for youngsters in all three divisions. 

Spurs want ticket cash now 

Tottenham have become the first Premier League club to begin charging season-ticket holders for next season, despite huge uncertainty over whether fans will even be able to attend matches. The club have set existing ticket holders a deadline of August 7 to pay 20 per cent of their ticket price to retain their place for the 2020-21 season — even though this will not even guarantee them access to matches.

There is little prospect of stadiums being able to operate at full capacity when the Government allow spectators to return so Spurs are planning to hold ballots for season-ticket holders to attend games.

Tottenham have become the first top-flight side to start charging for next year’s season tickets