United's fortunes in the league following Community Shield victories is enviable. They have won the Community Shield five times since the beginning of the Premiership in 1993.

And after lifting the shield in the traditional curtain-raiser to the domestic season, they have twice gone on to win the league.

Arsenal have not fared so well however. The last three times the Gunners have won the shield in 1998, 1999 and 2002, rivals Manchester United have gone on to be Premiership champions - a pattern Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be anxious to reverse should his team come away victorious on 08 August.

The Premiership adversaries have met four times since they first battled it out for the Shield in 1948, and are neck and neck when it comes to victories, winning twice each.

Manchester United's wins, in 1993 and 2003, came after the games went to penalty shoot outs, so should this year's tie result in deadlock after 90 minutes the odds for an Arsenal win are not good.

Since the shoot-out was introduced to the Shield in 1993 the event has been decided on penalties threetimes, each time involving a Manchester United win - twice over Arsenal, and once over Chelsea in 1997.

But other Shield ties have produced goals galore in the past - not least Manchester's United's 4-0 demolition of Newcastle in the Shield in 1996 - a win which was the icing on the cake for the Double-winners.

Frenchman Eric Cantona was man of the match as the Reds tore apart a Newcastle team spearheaded by a despondent Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand.

Having watched the Reds win the Shield twice in succession in 1996 and 1997, Arsenal hammered their northern rivals 3-0 in the pre-season showdown at Wembley.

Goals from Marc Overmars, Christopher Wreh and Nicolas Anelka inflicted a resounding defeat on Sir Alex's men.

Wenger had to watch Manchester United win the Premiership and FA Cup again in the 1998-1999 season - United adding insult to injury when they completed the Treble with the Champions League.

And though the Gunners did emerge with a 2-1 victory over Ferguson's team in the Shield in the summer of 1999 they once again went on to see the Reds win the Premiership.

Arsenal have featured twice in the three matches since the tie was moved to the Millennium Stadium from Wembley, beating Liverpool in 2002 and losing to United on penalties last season.