How Arsenal turned this Community Shield around, we may never know.
Behind in the tenth minute of injury time, they nonetheless forced penalties, won the shootout, and lifted silverware for the first time since 2020. Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola’s once-apprentice, had the better of his master once Kevin De Bruyne had smacked the bar and Rodri trickled the ball tamely against Aaron Ramsdale.
For once at Wembley, it was those dressed in sky blue teeming out of a Wembley final first, while Arsenal’s fanbase stayed for a hearty rendition of ‘Rocking All Over the World’ — and, of course, the trophy lift.
Arsenal find a way
What a bizarre end to a bizarre game. In the throes of a final attack late, late in stoppage time, with Arsenal queueing up in the Manchester City box, onto the ball came substitute Leandro Trossard. Never will a twice-deflected shot mean more to him than the 101st-minute equaliser that turned this Community Shield in Arsenal’s favour.
No sooner had he scored via nicks off both Julian Alvaraz and Manuel Akanji than the match was over and penalties would decide both sides’ fate.
De Bruyne struck the bar, Rodri scuffed into Ramsdale’s reach, and Arsenal had their first silverware since lifting this trophy three years ago. For City, one that got away. For the Gunners, a happy ending out of nowhere.
High intensity
While a trophy was on offer here and it won’t be in two months’ time, this was a less important encounter between Arsenal and City than their Premier League meeting at the Emirates on October 7 will be. And yet it was played at a quite scintillating pace.
Granted, there was no 13th-second goal like when Ilkay Gundogan scored at the very beginning of the FA Cup final here in June. Indeed, there was no Gundogan either, the German having swapped Manchester for Barcelona this summer.
But there was, at least, the brooding intensity of a Premier League match, brought forward a week and incorporated into the Community Shield.
Declan Rice’s best quality comes to the fore
It was not a performance typical of a fresh-out-the-box £105million signing. To begin with, at least.
Rice came to the fore in the second half here, stamping his authority on the match with an unstinting performance — turning over the ball, playing his teammates into good positions. He has that knack of distributing the ball in front of his defensive teammates, allowing them to come forward onto the ball rather than check back.
This was Arsenal’s day, and Rice put in a workmanlike shift. When he came off for Eddie Nketiah on the 80th minute, he looked shattered. He hadn’t half covered some ground.
