Arsenal 1-1 Man City (Trossard 90’+11 | Palmer 77′) – Arsenal win 4-1 on penalties
A clinic in clinical penalty taking won Arsenal the Community Shield as the ever reliable Kevin de Bruyne and Rodri missed their shootout spot-kicks.
Manchester City looked to have won the first trophy of the 2023-24 season as England’s U21 Euro-winning star Cole Palmer came off the bench to bend an elegant, curling effort past Aaron Ramsdale.
Yet another substitute, Leandro Trossard, took advantage of eight allotted minutes of added time becoming 13 to blast a shot into Manuel Akanji and past Stefan Ortega.
But in a match largely bereft of big chances or big moments, focus turned to Arsenal’s £200m summer acquisitions, purchases made specifically in aid of beating the side they finally managed to on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
It was always going to take something special…
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) August 6, 2023
What a hit from Cole Palmer!!pic.twitter.com/TUoVbOSATU
Declan Rice, perhaps on a hiding to nothing as a £100m defensive midfielder by the natural restrictions of the role, predominantly failed to grab attention in a position which isn’t designed to do so. His rangy, gangly form burst into frame for fleeting moments, but could never quite forge a foothold on the Wembley turf.
And for all the pre-season talk of Kai Havertz’s rebirth as a central midfielder, here he was once more, a makeshift striker playing like a makeshift striker, spurning perhaps the two best chances of a drab, cagey first half. The German fired astute cut-backs from Ben White and Bukayo Saka straight at Stefan Ortega with his trademark languid panache. It may well have made Chelsea fans nostalgic, but certainly didn’t suggest their club were the losers in the £65m deal.
The final of Arteta’s triumvirate of summer signings, Jurrien Timber, was also utilised in an unfamiliar role, as Oleksandr Zinchenko’s replacement at left-back, but demonstrated a natural adeptness. The Dutchman’s simple yet effective game worked well alongside Gabriel Martinelli, cutting inside to use his right foot while the Brazilian bombed down the touchline.
The Gunners’ most heavily rumoured fourth summer recruit David Raya may have watched this game with raised eyebrow and wry smile. Ramsdale, for all the credit he’s rightly earned after his excellent Players’ Tribune article, looked somewhere between purposely reckless and utterly lost at points.
You would not believe it!!
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) August 6, 2023
Arsenal have found an equaliser with 100 minutes on the clock!pic.twitter.com/i7CO6zWfGD
Across the first half, the England No 2 was nearly disposed twice on his goal-line and came a crossbar’s width away from conceding a 55-yard effort to Rodri. Early in the second, he cheaply parried a John Stones header back into the heart of the City pack after a corner. It may have appeared an impressive reflex stop on first viewing, but elite goalkeepers should be able to dispose of the ball more effectively.
If Ramsdale continues to play dice with the footballing gods on a regular basis, both opposition strikers and opportunistic midfielders may single him out as a weak point in a team that looks to have increasingly few.
For City, the first of their duo of Croatian summer signings but the only one available for this clash, Mateo Kovacic looked every inch the perfect Guardiolan disciple in his first competitive start for the club. He formed an effective trio of irrepressibly press-resistant midfielders with Rodri and Bernardo Silva to allay fears around Ilkay Gundogan’s Catalonian departure.
Referee Stuart Atwell also showed a particularly strict adherence to new officiating guidelines aiming to be softer on physical challenges but harsher on time-wasting and dissent. Within the first 20 minutes Thomas Partey was booked for kicking the ball away after he fouled Julian Alvarez, before Arteta, a serial touchline remonstrator, joined him for waving an imaginary yellow card after a foul on Havertz.
Alvarez also earned himself a yellow for nudging the ball out of play ahead of an opposition throw-in, highlighting the intention to carry out guidance to penalise “clear and impactful actions” that waste time. The players appeared to get the message in the second half.
For all the elation and elaborate celebration as Fabio Vieira smashed the winning penalty into the top corner of Ederson’s net, it may not be the indicator of future success the Gunners hope it is.
The Community Shield winners have only gone on to win the Premier League in the same season once since 2011, a statistic which may mar the post-victory optimism in North London.
Yet for now, there is just relief for Arsenal and Arteta as this new season starts as they so desperately wished the last one finished. Rectifying this strange statistical quirk is a job for another day.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/TF4uIHU
Post a Comment