August 7 – A trophy is a trophy but Arsenal’s Community Shield victory over Manchester City on penalties on Sunday is unlikely to have much bearing on the forthcoming season.
The match serves as a traditional curtain-raiser and is typically played between the winners of the previous season’s Premier League and FA Cup.
But because City won both as part of their treble, Arsenal took part as the runner-up in the league and will hope to have gained a psychological edge over their main rival heading into the new campaign that starts on Friday.
Cole Palmer curled in a 78th-minute goal after coming off the bench to give City the lead, only for Leandro Trossard to score with a heavily deflected shot in the 11th minute of stoppage time. Arsenal then won 4-1 in the penalty shootout.
“For us, it’s a statement,” Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale said. “It’s a marker to know we can go and beat Man City in a big game when it matters.”
Maybe so but City have now lost the Community Shield in three straight years, only to go on and win the league on both previous occasions.
“We came here to win it,” said City manager Pep Guardiola. “We were so close, but winning or losing, I know the position of the team.”
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