Arsenal’s record signing Alexandre Lacazette was handed a starting berth by manager Arsene Wenger for Sunday’s Community Shield showdown with Chelsea at Wembley.

The France striker, a £46.5 million ($60.6 million, 51.6 million euros) signing from Lyon, was flanked by Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi, with both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil left out.

Sanchez is still regaining fitness after his exertions with Chile at the Confederations Cup in Russia, while Ozil has been nursing a minor injury.

Chelsea’s star signing, Spanish striker Alvaro Morata, was named on the bench following his £58 million switch from Real Madrid.

Pedro was due to start the game wearing a protective mask after sustaining a facial injury in a pre-season friendly against Arsenal in Beijing.

Eden Hazard (ankle) and new signing Tiemoue Bakayoko (knee) were both absent.

The match, England’s traditional season curtain-raiser, is a repeat of last season’s FA Cup final, which saw Arsenal beat Premier League champions Chelsea 2-1.

Starting line-ups in the Community Shield between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on Sunday (1300 GMT kick-off):

Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette

Manager: Arsene Wenger (FRA)

Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N’Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi

Manager: Antonio Conte (ITA)

Referee: Bobby Madley (ENG)

AFP