Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has urged his teammates to make a strong start to their defence of the Premier League title this season.

The Blues face Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday, before opening their league campaign away at Newcastle United on August 17.

They will follow up their game against the Magpies with a home clash against Liverpool, before facing Arsenal and Chelsea before the end of September.

Toure has admitted that it will be a difficult start for his team, but he is confident that they can quickly find their best form.

"It's a really interesting way to start the season – the Community Shield against a top team like Arsenal at Wembley and, even though we have only just started to train together as a full squad, we will be ready," he told the club's official website.

"It's not just the Community Shield either - our first five or six games are looking really difficult for us but that makes it exciting and it means that we have to hit the ground running and have a strong start.

"We know how difficult the Premier League is but all of the guys have full focus and want to produce another exciting year for the supporters of this great club."

Toure scored 20 goals in the Premier League last season.