Phil McNulty

Arsenal's domestic season ended on the first day of August with the FA Cup final victory against Chelsea - and kicks back into action at the end of the same month as they meet Premier League champions Liverpool in the Community Shield at Wembley on Saturday.

This remarkably swift turnaround, enforced after the three-month hiatus during last season as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, represents a unique challenge to pre-season preparations for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and his Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp.

England manager Gareth Southgate's swift withdrawal of Manchester United captain Harry Maguire from his squad to face Iceland and Denmark in the Uefa Nations League in the aftermath of his court case in Greece cast an embarrassing shadow over an otherwise intriguing selection.

Maguire was originally named by Southgate but was removed only hours later after he was found guilty of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and repeated attempts of bribery following an incident in Mykonos.

This was a Champions League final like no other at the conclusion of a Champions League campaign like no other - but the outcome was the right one in the end as Bayern Munich were deservedly crowned kings of Europe for the sixth time.

The final was originally scheduled to take place in Istanbul's Ataturk Stadium on 30 May but was eventually staged 85 days later inside the vast, but virtually deserted, Stadium of Light in Lisbon.

Eddie Howe's departure from Bournemouth seemed an inevitable consequence once their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed on the final day of the season.

The 42-year-old's iconic status among Cherries fans is assured having served them for 25 years and taken them from League Two to the top flight - indeed #thankyoueddie was a Twitter trend on Sunday morning.

Every August, I have the thankless task of predicting how the final Premier League table will look come May.

This season, of course, how things stood in May mattered little, with the campaign not coming to an end until July because of coronavirus.

The measure of how much it means to reach the Champions League was played out in a simple scene after Manchester United secured a place in next season's competition at the expense of Leicester City.

As visiting players and staff celebrated the final whistle and the 2-0 win that confirmed qualification, a lone figure sat inconsolable in the directors' box at the King Power Stadium.

The fireworks started at Anfield long before that Premier League trophy was presented to Liverpool on the Kop - normally the beating heart of the club's support but instead adorned by flags on this night of celebration.

Liverpool's 5-3 win against Chelsea, a fittingly entertaining finale to their third successive unbeaten Premier League season at Anfield, was played out to the soundtrack of thunderous explosions, red lights in the sky and the smell of cordite.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defiantly announced David de Gea was "the best goalkeeper in the world" when his credentials were questioned following one of numerous high-profile errors this season.

That was after De Gea somehow managed to fumble a routine shot from Steven Bergwijn into the net behind him in the 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in June.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta may have been the man with the inside track on Manchester City after those years of success standing behind Pep Guardiola in the technical area - but some of his former club's deficiencies are obvious to everyone.

First things first. This was a personal and tactical triumph for Arteta, who left his role as Guardiola's assistant in December to take charge of an Arsenal team in crisis as successor to Unai Emery.

Mikel Arteta had his most satisfying night as Arsenal manager when Premier League champions Liverpool were beaten at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday - but it also outlined the scale of the task he faces.

The 38-year-old former Gunners midfielder, appointed to replace fellow Spaniard Unai Emery shortly before Christmas, admitted the gulf between Liverpool and Arsenal is as wide as the current 40-point gap suggests.