(Football news) Arsenal won the Community Shield for the first time this season, defeating treble winners Manchester City on penalties. After a magnificent curling strike by substitute Cole Palmer, City thought to have won it in normal time, only for an awful last-gasp deflection Leandro Trossard goal to give Arsenal a 1-1 draw and send the game to a shoot-out.
While Kevin De Bruyne fired against the crossbar and Rodri’s awful effort was saved by Aaron Ramsdale, Arsenal scored all of their penalty kicks. Just like a year ago, Erling Haaland had a quiet afternoon in this game, but his successor, Palmer, was destined to add another trophy to the Etihad Stadium’s bulging cabinet.
Arsenal had their chances, and a late Trossard shot deflected off Manuel Akanji to give them the goal they deserved. Fabio Vieira then converted the game-winning penalty in the shootout, giving Arsenal a 4-1 victory. Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, and Jurrien Timber all started for Arsenal, while Havertz’s former Chelsea teammate Mateo Kovacic was the sole new name in City’s starting lineup.
Both Thomas Partey and Julian Alvarez were booked for kicking the ball away under new refereeing criteria, with the former showing ring rust in passing straight to Haaland on the edge of his own box, with the forward teeing up Rodri, whose shot bounced inches wide.
Mikel Arteta was enraged that Rodri was not penalised for pulling Havertz’s jersey, instead earning the Arsenal manager a booking for gesticulating a card. Despite City’s dominance, Arsenal came closest to breaking the deadlock at the half-hour mark, with Stefan Ortega saving a Havertz shot before Gabriel Martinelli’s follow-up was blocked by John Stones.
As halftime approached, Havertz almost scored again, but Ortega saved another shot from the Germany attacker after Martin Oedgaard and Bukayo Saka combined. Rodri’s speculative shot from the halfway line landed on the roof of Ramsdale’s net as he scrambled back towards goal.
With just over an hour gone, City manager Pep Guardiola elected to pull off Haaland, last season’s 52-goal man limited to just 13 touches in a similarly peripheral display to that in last year’s defeat to Liverpool. Palmer took his place, and the England Under-21 European Championship winner was quickly thrust into the action.
As City sought to reclaim their earlier dominance, his initial shot towards goal ricocheted off Timber’s thigh for a corner. Soon after, he went one better, receiving the ball on the right side of the Arsenal penalty area again, but this time bending a superb strike beyond Ramsdale.
Fellow substitute Phil Foden should have increased the lead, but Ramsdale came up with a great last-ditch stop, which he repeated from the subsequent corner to deny Rodri’s near-post header.
Arsenal would level in fortuitous circumstances as Trossard’s strike deflected off Akanji, catching Ortega off guard and sent the Arsenal fans behind the goal into raptures. Arteta’s troops took the lead in the shootout thanks to skipper Martin Odegaard, before replacement De Bruyne shook the goal frame with his own shot.
Trossard’s Belgium teammate put Arsenal ahead in the shootout, with Bernardo Silva scoring City’s sole penalty and Bukayo Saka – who missed at the same Wembley end during the Euro 2020 final – also scoring.
The writing was on the wall when Ramsdale saved Rodri’s weak effort and Fabio Vieira blasted home from 12 yards to seal victory.
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