LONDON: Premier League champions Manchester City will begin their title defence away to Arsenal on the weekend of August 11-12, the English Premier League announced Thursday as it unveiled the fixtures for the 2018/19 season.
The match will also be new Arsenal manager Unai Emery's first in English football's top flight.
The exact date of the game will be confirmed when television broadcasting schedules are drawn up.
City amassed 100 points and scored 106 goals while finishing 19 points clear of second-placed Manchester United in the 2017/18 season.
Following the Arsenal game, City do not face another top-six team until they are away to Liverpool -- who beat Pep Guardiola's men in the semi-finals of the Champions League last season -- in October.