The Gunners breathed a sigh of relief after they got the better of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to win the silverware in the season opener. Mikel Arteta couldn’t have asked for a high-spirited performance from his boys who put up a great fight till the end to ensure that they are alive in the contest. Soon after the kick-off, Manchester City completely dominated the game in the first 20 minutes.
The treble winners frustrated the Arsenal with possession and were changing positions every now and then to cause problems for the Gunners. Despite them dictating the terms with the ball, they weren’t that good in terms of incision. Arsenal were defensively good and hampered Man City from scoring any goal in the first half. The Gunners did press pretty well after the first 20 minutes and had two goal-scoring chances only to be wasted.
Both teams went toe-to-toe with each other before Arsenal made a shoddy error through Kieran Tierney which saw Manchester City capitalizing on it to better effect. Cole Palmer, who came in as a substitute announced his arrival in style by scoring a stunning goal in the 77th minute. Despite the fact that Man City had the mental edge over the Gunners, Mikel Arteta’s players gave absolutely everything till the fag end of the game.
Arsenal beat Manchester City on penalty shoot-out to win the Community Shield
The Gunners had many set-piece opportunities but all those chances went begging anyways. However, in the dying seconds, Leandro Trossard forced one into the net which saw Manuel Akanji getting a deflection off his body before the ball deceived the goalkeeper. This time, the fortune favoured the brave as Trossard’s shot converted into a goal that forced the game into a penalty shoot-out.
Arsenal beat Man City by 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out which saw them lifting a silverware. This is also Arsenal’s 17th Community Shield and have added 49 major honours to their decorated trophy cabinet. Kevin de Bryune hit the woodwork whereas Ramsdale saved Rodri’s shot.
On the other hand, Arsenal were clinical in the shoot-out as they benefitted from Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka and Fabio Viera who were clinical in putting the ball past the goalie. Arsenal did avenge Man City for missing out on the Premier League title last season.
“It’s a marker to know we can go and beat Man City in a big game when it matters. I’m not sure what it will be like going through the season, but we now have that mental block gone,” said Aaron Ramdale after the match.
