- By Gary Rose
- ` Sport at Wembley Stadium
19 minutes ago
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Arsenal have now won the Community Shield/Charity Shield 17 times
It rarely sets the tone for the season ahead and may not be viewed by many as a major trophy, but in the context of the end of last season for Arsenal, the psychological impact of Sunday’s Community Shield win over Manchester City should not be underestimated.
After Cole Palmer’s stunning goal, the Gunners fought back through Leandro Trossard’s final equalizer before Kevin de Bruyne and Rodri missed their penalties on penalties and Arsenal converted all their shots to secure their first title of the season.
Arsenal led the Premier League for 248 days last season – no side had spent so long at the top of England’s top flight and failed to win it – but when Mikel Arteta’s side capitulated, City set about winning the title defend.
What’s more, they didn’t seem to have an answer to City for the entirety of last season. They met them three times – twice in the Premier League and once in the FA Cup – losing all three by an aggregate score of 8-2.
In fact, the Gunners had lost their last nine games against the champions.
It was vital for Arsenal to finally get a head start on their rivals, whatever the competition, to ensure they are not mentally defeated before even taking the pitch against Guardiola’s side.
“It’s a statement,” Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale told ITV. “It’s a sign that we can beat Manchester City in an important game when it counts.”
“I’m not sure how it’s going to be this season. But that mental block is gone. We are now ready to move on.”
Arteta was also encouraged by the result.
“We’ve shown again that we can play against an incredible team,” he told ` Radio 5 live.
“There are still many problems and challenges ahead of us, but we have done very well.”
Have new chants taken Arsenal to a new level?
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Arsenal’s summer signings all featured against Manchester City
Injury and fatigue were part of Arsenal’s dizzying title bid last season and the Gunners worked to counter that by spending heavily in the months that followed.
England midfielder Declan Rice joined from West Ham for £100m, while German international Kai Havertz has joined from Chelsea for £65m and Dutch defender Jurrien Timber has signed from Ajax for a fee of up to £38.5m.
It has undoubtedly improved the core of the Gunners side and ahead of Sunday’s game, City manager Guardiola conceded that these signings have taken Arsenal to a new level.
Rice got the biggest cheer from the expectant Arsenal fans when his name was read out before kick-off, but apart from a moment or two he didn’t stand out much while Havertz was guilty of missing two really good chances in the first half Half.
Timber was the most impressive of the three as he was deployed at left-back but crucially the trio’s arrival adds an important depth that was sorely lacking last season.
“Timber looked great, a good defender but adept at moving into midfield. He looked like a great signing,” Chelsea women’s manager Emma Hayes told ITV.
“This will be the second season Arsenal have competed [at the top] and this is where Rice, Timber and Havertz will help.”
Hayes added: “Arsenal have learned, they know they have to be more physical and more determined. You have to adapt.”
“The findings have raised greater expectations among fans.”
Rice showed his quality at West Ham and played a crucial role in the Europa Conference League win, but former Manchester United captain Roy Keane believes the pressure will be on him to continue that form at Arsenal given the price paid to repeat.
“Rice is surrounded by better players now,” he told ITV. “They obviously paid way too much for him, he’s not worth more than £100m.”
“We’re going to find out how good Declan is. We’ll find out if he really has top quality in terms of pass detection and nine, ten goals.”
A day off for City, but nothing more
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Erling Haaland failed to score in the Community Shield for the second year in a row
For Manchester City fans it has been yet another frustratingly long journey with no reward.
This was their third consecutive appearance on the Community Shield and the third time it has ended in defeat, but this is highly unlikely to set any alarm bells ringing.
A slow start to last season didn’t hurt them as they won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble. Because of their successes, they finished their season later than Arsenal and subsequently started preparations for the upcoming season later than the Gunners.
As a result, there were some signs of rusting from last season’s Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland, who scored 52 goals in all competitions and struggled to make an impact as he had just 13 touches before being replaced by Palmer in the second game became half.
“Manchester City are a good team but sometimes you lose,” admitted Guardiola.
“In the end we didn’t make it, their penalty takers were better than us.”
Ultimately, it was a game perhaps more important to Arsenal than City and Keane doubts it will have any impact on this season’s title fight.
“It means more to Arsenal than Manchester City to win this game,” he told ITV.
“I don’t think City’s readiness will be in doubt. We know the quality they have, they will obviously need a bit of luck but it will be very difficult to stop them.”
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