Arsenal secured the Community Shield after they beat Premier League and FA Cup holders Manchester City 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
City took the lead through Cole Palmer in the 77th minute after the forward cut inside from the right and curled a superb effort past Aaron Ramsdale and inside the far post. Arsenal, however, grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser through Leandro Trossard whose shot was deflected past Ortega by Manuel Akanji to send the game to penalties.
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne crashed his spot-kick against the crossbar and Ramsdale saved from Rodri before Fabio Vieira converted the winning penalty, Arsenal taking the shoot-out to claim the first piece of silverware of the season.
Follow all the reaction below . . .
06:37 PM BST
Here’s the winning moment
As Viera tucks the final penalty away.
06:31 PM BST
There he is!
06:29 PM BST
Arsenal’s players going up
to get their medals. Try telling these lads this is a glorified friendly. They won’t hear you. They are at Wembley. They will not hear your through the television, that’s just not how it works.
06:23 PM BST
Arsenal quotes
Ramsdale: “We have been working hard on penalty shootouts for two years. I haven’t had the luck that I needed in previous seasons. We stuck with our plans and worked on them.
[What does this win mean?] “I’m not sure, I’ll be honest. They’re a bit behind us in their pre-season. But it’s a marker to us that we can beat Man City in a big game, when it matters. I’m not sure what it’ll be like during the season, but any mental block has gone. We’re now ready to push on.
Rice: “This is what I envisioned when I joined the club, winning trophies. The manager told us today that it is loads of mini games, they change so much and so often. I am buzzing. I feel like I have grown so much in the three weeks I have been here and I am ready to keep improving.”
06:17 PM BST
Arsenal win the Community Shield
They equalised very late on, and then in the penalty shootout, they were superb. They took four kicks, and they scored all four. Man City failed with two: De Bruyne hit the bar, and then Ramsdale saved from Rodri.
06:15 PM BST
Arsenal 4 Man City 1
Viera missed a pen for Arsenal in pre season…. can he put that right now? He can! He lofts that into the roof of the net, no chance for the City keeper and Arsenal win the Community Shield.
06:14 PM BST
Arsenal 3 Man City 1
Rodri steps up. Ramsdale saves! That is the first penalty he has ever saved for Arsenal.
06:13 PM BST
Arsenal 3 Man City 1
Saka tucks his away and Arsenal are in the pound seats here.
06:13 PM BST
Arsenal 2 Man City 1
Bernardo Silva chips it down the side, nicely done and Ramsdale had gone the wrong way. Wouldn’t have mattered if he’d guessed right.
06:12 PM BST
Arsenal 2 Man City 0
Trossard steps up, places the ball cautiously on the spot. Right foot, hard and low in the corner as the City keeper goes the wrong way.
06:11 PM BST
Arsenal 1 Man City 0
De Bruyne SMASHES the ball against the bar! Misses.
06:10 PM BST
Arsenal 1 Man City 0
Stuttering run up. Odegaard sends keeper the wrong way. Scores.
06:09 PM BST
Shootout will be in front of the Arsenal fans
It will be Odegaard to kick us off.
06:05 PM BST
Full time: Arsenal 1 Man City 1
Kevin De Bruyne nearly wins it late – very late – with a freekick.
But that’s the lot and Arsenal, improbably, have forced a penalty shoot out.
06:03 PM BST
GOAL! Arsenal 1 Man City 1 (Trossard 90+11)
…. Trossard picks it up and cuts inside, hits a shot at goal. It takes a huge deflection, totally wrong-footing the City keeper and that’s going to level up the scores.
06:02 PM BST
90+10 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 1
100 minutes up at Wembley as Saka delivers in a corner. It’s half cleared…
06:00 PM BST
90+ mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 1
Since 2011, the Community Shield winners have gone on to win the PL just once. Says ITV’s Sam Matterface.
There’s about an hour and half of added time because of the concussion delay. Both Walker and Partey play on.
05:58 PM BST
90+ mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 1
There is a clash of heads between Partey and Walker. Delay while both players are examined.
05:53 PM BST
89 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 1
Fully eight minutes will be added on. Cole Palmer has been named the man of the match.
Ramsdale with a poor clearance, straight to KDB. Partey with a good tackle.
05:51 PM BST
87 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 1
If Havertz had scored that excellent chance this might have been different but it’s all City in the final quarter and Havertz is being subbed off.
05:47 PM BST
84 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 1
Rice, who has made an encouraging debut, comes off. Nketiah on.
05:47 PM BST
83 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 1
And another handy intervention from Ramsdale at the ensuing corner. KDB delivered and Rodri’s header was close.
05:45 PM BST
82 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 1
Ramsdale does well with this one. Arsenal opened up again, Alvarez being a right handful. Foden with some great skill in the area and he dinks the ball at the goal… it seems to have gone through Ramsdale’s legs, and Foden is already wheeling away to celebrate. But Ramsdale has got enough on it to deflect the ball for a corner.
05:43 PM BST
No chance for the Arsenal keeper
Timber, who can be well pleased with his debut, is substituted for Tierney.
05:38 PM BST
GOAL! Arsenal 0 Manchester City 1 (Palmer 77)
Nice finish. Palmer gets the ball with a hint of fortune when an Arsenal defender is hit and the ball rebounds to Palmer. He gathers the ball, he controls and shifts it, and he fires home. Impressive finishing from the homegrown product.
Sam Dean: “Palmer provided the excellent finish but that goal started with Foden’s turn on Partey in the City half. Arsenal were suddenly pulled apart, and the whole pitch opened up.”
05:33 PM BST
70 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Palmer with a shot! Deflected off Timber. Kevin De Bruyne the man who played it to Palmer.
05:30 PM BST
66 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
If today’s refereeing performance is typical, this season is going to be an absolute blood pressure fest for the managers.
Gabriel is booked for getting in the way of Ortega when the City keeper was trying to take a goal kick.
05:29 PM BST
65 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Cole Palmer and Kevin De Bruyne replace Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic.
Arsenal have a brace of corners but to little effect.
05:27 PM BST
64 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
I remember when Teddy Sheringham did that at Arsenal fans at the start of the 1999-2000 season in this, after their Treble.
The chant from Arsenal: “Three games! You only played three games!”
Here is Sam Dean: “There have been some important defensive interventions by William Saliba today. It’s impossible to overstate his significance to this Arsenal team, and indeed the significance of his new contract at the club (signed in July). His absence at the end of last season was perhaps the single biggest reason why Arsenal were overtaken by City in the title race.”
05:26 PM BST
63 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Rice has an effort. Over.
Haaland is subbed off, to some jeers from Arsenal fans. He makes a “three” gesture with his fingers.
05:25 PM BST
60 mins: Arsenal 0 Man CIty 0
National treasure Jack Grealish is coming off. I’d barely noticed him to be honest. Foden on.
05:21 PM BST
55 mins: Arsenal 0 Man CIty 0
Odegaard needs a wee bit of treatment so is made to go off. There’s a new 30 second cooldown if you are injured, which could hopefully stop people wasting time.
05:18 PM BST
Formations
05:14 PM BST
52 mins: Arsenal 0 Man CIty 0
Stones! Gets up from the corner, helped by the fact that Haaland is putting it about and manhandling about 19 Arsenal players. John Stones meets the header nice and true – and that’s a good save from Ramsdale!
Sorry, I initially typed “that’s a good save from Ortega”. That really would have been a good, and bizarre, save if the Man City keeper had run the length of the pitch to deny his own player…
05:13 PM BST
50 mins: Arsenal 0 Man CIty 0
More good work from Timber at the back to stop a cross from ? Walker. At the expense of a corner.
05:12 PM BST
48 mins: Arsenal 0 Man CIty 0
Odegaard with some excellent work but when he slips it to Havertz it all grinds to a halt. Kai is swarmed by Man City players and looks simply overwhelmed as he gives the ball away.
05:09 PM BST
46 mins: Arsenal 0 Man CIty 0
It’s City who get on the front foot early on.
No subs at half time.
05:06 PM BST
The players are out
for the second half.
Here is Sam Dean: “This has turned into an engaging and even contest at Wembley, which did not seem possible after 20 minutes of action. City were so dominant in these early stages that it felt like they would stroll to victory, but Arsenal eventually found their rhythm and were the better team in the period before the break.
Kai Havertz is filling in for Gabriel Jesus today and he’s followed the Brazilian’s lead by contributing well in the build-up and then missing good chances in front of goal.”
04:59 PM BST
Here’s that second Havertz chance
04:52 PM BST
Half time: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Encouraging for Arsenal. Rice and Partey look a really solid central pair. Saliba’s had a good game, keeping Haaland quiet. Timber, the flying left back, looks like he could be an exciting addition. It remains to be seen if Arsenal is the club at which Havertz finally delivers.
04:48 PM BST
43 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Maybe Ramsdale had that covered, I dunno.
Saliba with a well-timed intervention with ole Erling lurking.
04:46 PM BST
42 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Ramsdale has gone walkabout! He is miles off his line. City’s Rodri spots it, tries the lob, and it’s lucky for Rammers that the ball lands on the roof of the net. He would have looked a right Charlie.
04:43 PM BST
40 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Arsenal doing well the last few minutes, and they are having the better of it. A chance falls to Havertz! Should have scored.
Nice through ball from Odegaard. Saka beats Akanji, cut it back for Kai. First time shot from no more than nine yards and he’s hit that straight at the City keeper. Always been a frustrating player, for me.
04:38 PM BST
35 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Saka vs Akanji again, and we are scoring this round to young master Bukayo. Cuts inside, whips a shot with the left but wide.
04:34 PM BST
30 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Julian Alvarez is the latest man to go in the book. This is turning into a right peevish affair. Alvarez’s crime was to kick the ball away.
04:33 PM BST
30 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Aaron Ramsdale dithers on the ball and his touch lets him down. He now experiences what I would think is the unpleasant sensation of watching Erling Haaland bearing down on him at top speed. Ramsdale manages to hack clear.
04:28 PM BST
26 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Havertz is into the book for a clear, and pointless, trip up of Stones.
04:28 PM BST
25 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Goalmouth drama – at the City end. Arsenal’s Ben White cuts inside, and plays it to Havertz, who does really well under pressure to control, spin and shoot. Ortega saves it, just, with a boot. Follow up shot comes in from Martinelli and that has hit John Stones on… the hand? On something. Well, not on the hand in the eyes of the officials at any rate, and that’s cleared.
Best chance of the game.
I think that it just hit Stones in the midriff, judging by how winded he’s looking.
04:24 PM BST
22 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Two different views there… talking of Lee, he’s just quite right made the point that Arteta is carrying on a bit here, and not EVERY foul has to be a yellow card.
04:23 PM BST
20 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
04:19 PM BST
19 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Arteta booked.
Rodri, who seems to be everywhere, pulls back Havertz. Mikel Arteta leapt out of his box and was running around waving for a yellow card. Atwell obliged.
04:19 PM BST
16 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Rodri has a shot deflected for a corner.
04:16 PM BST
13 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Rice out quickly to close down Rodri, who manages to get a shot away but under sufficient pressure to put him off.
04:14 PM BST
Fans
04:11 PM BST
9 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Good duel developing between Akanji and Saka, pace and verve aplenty apiece.
04:10 PM BST
5 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Quite a bit of spice so far. We are not talking Keegan-Bremner, but a few tackles are flying in and Thomas Partey has been booked.
He fouled Alvarez and then kicked the ball away in a hissy.
04:07 PM BST
4 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
Saka nods off on the right hand size and City are in! They get to the byline down the left, the cross is chipped up but a bit too high for a header of note.
04:06 PM BST
3 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
First moment of engagement for Warwickshire whistler Stuart Atwell, who blows for a foul as Gabriel knocks Julian Alvarez over. In midfield.
04:05 PM BST
2 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
City enjoying some time on the ball at the back and building patiently.
04:03 PM BST
1 mins: Arsenal 0 Man City 0
It’s a sunny afternoon at Wembley, I am happy to report that both teams are correctly attired in red/white and sky blue respectively, and the 2023-2024 season is underway.
03:58 PM BST
To Guardiola’s point about workload
M’colleague Nick Miller on the Athletic has calculated that someone could play EIGHTY-SEVEN games this season, if they featured in the expanded Champions League and the Club World Club World World Cup Club Cup World Cup or whatever it is called.
03:55 PM BST
The managers greet
each other warmly in the tunnel, little chat and a handshake. Pep pats Mikel on the cheek. Quite an alpha move! Champed him!
03:52 PM BST
More from Pep
as reported by Cameron Henderson.
“It’s what it is. You have two options, you complain or retire, you have a lot of time for holidays. It’s just a question for Uefa Fifa, it’s just what it is.”
On coming off the back of the treble:
“We will see how we react about the success last season, it is a proof of ourselves. We will see it every day.”
younger players emphasis:
“Our academy the guys who are working there is incredible. We sell a lot of big big talents.
“We rely a lot, we feel is a reality.
“It’s coming from the academy more players [who] we can use.”
on the Gvardiol signing:
“He’s a centre defender left, his physical condition is really good and his build up with the left foot is also really good and he’s 21-years-old.
“We try to improve the team for the season, not just for this season, but for the future.”
03:50 PM BST
Pep to ITV
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola speaking to ITV: “We will see how we react to the success last season. The little details that are maybe uncomfortable after winning a Treble, we will see. Football is more man to man now, it makes it more uncomfortable.”
03:48 PM BST
Emma Hayes
03:47 PM BST
Fans
03:46 PM BST
Mikel Arteta speaks to ITV
“Another opportunity for us to win a trophy.
“We have to think how we can start the game as well as finish the game.
“Declan adapting, we know all about his physicality and his presence.”
03:18 PM BST
So that’s exciting for Arsenal fans
Summer signings Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz all start for Arsenal, and it looks a strong outfit with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard also in the starting line-up. Emma Hayes on ITV is suggesting that Havertz will play as a false nine.
Mateo Kovacic is named in City’s midfield following his move from Chelsea.
Erling Haaland is joined in attack by Julian Alvarez.
03:04 PM BST
The teams
Here are the Gunners
And here is the City selection.
Teams in full, then.
Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Rice, Partey, Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Havertz. Subs: Tierney, Smith Rowe, Kiwior, Holding, Tomiyasu, Trossard, Vieira, Turner, Nketiah.
Man City: Ortega, Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji, Rodri, Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Alvarez, Grealish, Haaland. Subs: Phillips, De Bruyne, Gomez, Palmer, Lewis, McAtee, Ederson, Laporte, Foden.
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)
02:53 PM BST
Nice pic from a City fan
Presumably seeing blue sky for the first time this summer…
02:52 PM BST
Do your own ‘Pep’ joke
02:42 PM BST
Welcome to the Community Shield
Good afternoon and welcome to our live blog of The Traditional Curtain Raiser TM. It’s the League Champions from last season against… well, it would have been the FA Cup winners but as we of course all know, Manchester City won that as well, so it’s the League runners-up, Arsenal, who will contest this friendly-ish fixture.
The kick off at Wembley will be at 4pm.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has expressed his concern about the demands on players in light of changes such as an expanded Club World Cup and more time being added on in games.
After winning the Champions League to complete their treble last term, City will compete in December’s Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia – what is planned to be the final edition featuring seven teams, with the next a 32-side competition taking place in the United States in the summer of 2025.
Meanwhile, the significant increase in time added on seen at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, designed to tackle timewasting, is something set to apply to Premier League matches this season.
Speaking ahead of his side opening their 2023-24 campaign with the Community Shield clash against Arsenal, Guardiola said: “I know at the end of next season, we are going to make a (Club) World Cup in the United States after finishing the season, two or three more weeks. That means the holidays will be 15 days or maybe three weeks.
“I think it doesn’t exist already, pre-seasons. The problem is here (touching his head) – exhausted. Look already how many players are injured in pre-season, in bad conditions, humidity, hot, the pitches are not really good, especially in the States.
“It is what it is, so we have to adapt, adjust – but it is not normal.
“Now, for example, every game we’re going to play for 100 minutes. Wasting time – from my point of view it is not going to be solved by extending 10 more minutes. It’s more tiring for the players. It’s too much.
“FIFA, UEFA – more competitions. The World Cup – more teams. This (Club) World Cup – I don’t know how many teams.
“I don’t know what (is going to happen) in the future, for the players, even the managers, to prepare. That’s why you have to see exactly how much you demand of the players.
“Every day, season by season, it’s difficult to handle for the players. They love to play but they need also recovery, with the stress and tension they have. They make a show like they do in front of 55-60,000 people – that is a lot of energy, mental energy, and every week, to do it, is a lot.
“But every year is getting worse and worse, and will be worse. I don’t know how it is going to end, honestly.”
So, welcome to the new season! Millionaires moaning, but the action will get underway soon and I’m sure it will be a roister-doister affair.
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